Chapter 2 of Tales from the Operas is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Tales from the Operas is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other. A happy palace, truly. See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house. “Well?” “All is done, sire.
Chapter 2 of Tales from the Operas is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
with unflagging resolve
From this reading “Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.”
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading “See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.”
-ing form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.”
a large and stately mansion
From this reading “Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.”
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading “See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.”
make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading ““All is done, sire.”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “A happy palace, truly.”
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 “See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.”
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 A happy palace, truly.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “All is done, sire.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
with unflagging resolve
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “All is done, sire.
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
at any time
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
-ing form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading A happy palace, truly.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “All is done, sire.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
make (offspring) by reproduction
From this reading “All is done, sire.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
having a supporting base
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
in or at that place or location
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading A happy palace, truly.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well?”
in or at the place that
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
which person or people
From this reading See, standing there, in that splendid royal room, are the duke and Rustighello, who had stood watching Gennaro’s house.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Go we now to the grand palace, where the husband and wife watched each other ceaselessly, each ever fearing death at the hands of the other.
Chapter 2 of Tales from the Operas by George Frederick [Editor] Pardon holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 180 sentences of Tales from the Operas, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Tales from the Operas by George Frederick [Editor] Pardon exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Tales from the Operas by George Frederick [Editor] Pardon on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6271 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57605 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57605, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 522 minutes of reading across 1255 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales from the Operas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Tales from the Operas 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 Tales from the Operas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
