Chapter 1 of Confidences is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Confidences is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret. And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets. Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household. How do I know this? The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
Chapter 1 of Confidences is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.”
third-person singular of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.”
a social unit living together
From this reading “Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.”
plural of “namesake” — a person with the same name as another
From this reading “And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.”
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading “Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.”
any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
From this reading “Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.”
plural of “violet” — any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
From this reading “And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading How do I know this?
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
the act of departing
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
third-person singular of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
a social unit living together
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How do I know this?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading How do I know this?
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
hear with intention
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
plural of “namesake” — a person with the same name as another
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
express in words
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Every little flower that grows is a living being, as you or I--and every plant is a household.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading The flowers told me themselves, and now I am going to let you into the secret.
any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
plural of “violet” — any of numerous low-growing violas with small flowers
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Listen, Violet, I am going to tell you a wonderful secret.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And this wonderful secret is about your namesakes, the violets.
Chapter 1 of Confidences by E. B. (Edith Belle) Lowry holds 32 sentences, grouped into 7 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 32 sentences of Confidences, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Confidences by E. B. (Edith Belle) Lowry exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 32 sentences, grouped into 7 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Confidences by E. B. (Edith Belle) Lowry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 374 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14445 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14445, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 31 minutes of reading across 75 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Confidences section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Confidences to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Confidences, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
