Chapter 2 of Starr, of the Desert is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Starr, of the Desert is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand. At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning. Now, reading slowly, she knew ... Dear Babe, (said the letter). Don't be horrified at what I have done.
Chapter 2 of Starr, of the Desert is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “Dear Babe, (said the letter).”
hold firmly
From this reading “At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.”
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading “Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.”
stricken with horror
From this reading “Don't be horrified at what I have done.”
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading “At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.”
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading “Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.”
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading “At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.”
in a rigid manner
From this reading “Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.”
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 Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Dear Babe, (said the letter).
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
dearly loved
From this reading Dear Babe, (said the letter).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
hold firmly
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
(Greek mythology) the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda who was abducted by Paris; the Greek army sailed to Troy to get her back which resulted in the Trojan War
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
stricken with horror
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Now, reading slowly, she knew ...
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now, reading slowly, she knew ...
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
past form of “refuse” — show unwillingness towards
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
in a rigid manner
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Dear Babe, (said the letter).
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now, reading slowly, she knew ...
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Now, reading slowly, she knew ...
having a supporting base
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading At first her mind had refused to grasp its meaning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Don't be horrified at what I have done.
in or at the place that
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Beyond the door, Helen May was standing rigidly beside the bed where Peter lay, and was reading for the second time the letter which Peter had held in his hand.
Chapter 2 of Starr, of the Desert by B. M. Bower holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 413 sentences of Starr, of the Desert, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Starr, of the Desert by B. M. Bower exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Starr, of the Desert by B. M. Bower on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3724 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12570 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12570, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 310 minutes of reading across 745 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Starr, of the Desert section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Starr, of the Desert 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 Starr, of the Desert, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
