Chapter 2 of Mortal Summer is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Mortal Summer is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now. She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths. And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on. Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it. “So you let her go,” she said.
Chapter 2 of Mortal Summer is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted
From this reading “Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.”
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading “And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.”
bound with chains
From this reading “Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.”
(Old Testament) a youth who was taken into the court of Nebuchadnezzar and given divine protection when thrown into a den of lions (6th century BC)
From this reading “But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.”
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.”
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading “She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.”
plural of “moth” — typically crepuscular or nocturnal insect having a stout body and feathery or hairlike antennae
From this reading “She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.”
-ing form of “worship” — love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol
From this reading “But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.”
In this reading “Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
a light within the field of vision that is brighter than the brightness to which the eyes are adapted
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
rub with a brush, or as if with a brush
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
bound with chains
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
(Old Testament) a youth who was taken into the court of Nebuchadnezzar and given divine protection when thrown into a den of lions (6th century BC)
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
opinion or judgment
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
past form of “frown” — look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “So you let her go,” she said.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
be the source of pain
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
light from a lamp
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “So you let her go,” she said.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
plural of “moth” — typically crepuscular or nocturnal insect having a stout body and feathery or hairlike antennae
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
not any; not one
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
and nothing more
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “So you let her go,” she said.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
and nothing more
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “So you let her go,” she said.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Simply her brilliance chained him, simply her arms, Her eyes, took hold of everything in him And hurt it.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading She seemed as near, He whispered to himself, as lamplight must, At midnight, to poor moths.
-ing form of “worship” — love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol
From this reading But she had arms and eyes for only Daniel, Worshiping her now.
but in spite of that
From this reading And yet no brush Of fingers, such as Berrien might have frowned on.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “So you let her go,” she said.
Chapter 2 of Mortal Summer by Mark Van Doren holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 2 holds 400 sentences of Mortal Summer, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Mortal Summer by Mark Van Doren exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 2 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 Mortal Summer by Mark Van Doren on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mortal Summer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Mortal Summer 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 Mortal Summer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
