Chapter 2 of Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) is here in full — 396 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 Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What was I to answer? Pray, what would you have answered, puritan? "Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said. "The drama will appear." (And who knows?
Chapter 2 of Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
react verbally
From this reading “What was I to answer?”
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?”
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “"The drama will appear."”
a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading “"The drama will appear."”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “(And who knows?”
information about recent and important events
From this reading “"Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said.”
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?”
a member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries thought that the Protestant Reformation under Elizabeth was incomplete and advocated the simplification and regulation of forms of worship
From this reading “Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading (And who knows?
react verbally
From this reading What was I to answer?
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "The drama will appear."
a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading "The drama will appear."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading What was I to answer?
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading (And who knows?
information about recent and important events
From this reading "Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?
a member of a group of English Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries thought that the Protestant Reformation under Elizabeth was incomplete and advocated the simplification and regulation of forms of worship
From this reading Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The drama will appear."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What was I to answer?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What was I to answer?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What was I to answer?
which person or people
From this reading (And who knows?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "The drama will appear."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, I have good news, Aaronna," I said.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Pray, what would you have answered, puritan?
Chapter 2 of Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) by Constance Fenimore Woolson holds 396 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 396 sentences of Stories by American Authors (Volume 4), unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) by Constance Fenimore Woolson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 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 Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) by Constance Fenimore Woolson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2172 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22401 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22401, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 181 minutes of reading across 435 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Stories by American Authors (Volume 4) 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 Stories by American Authors (Volume 4), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
