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The gnome's gneiss
The gnome's gneiss

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The gnome's gneiss is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The gnome's gneiss
Context Illustration Reading 1/86 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.
The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.
Then he began chanting to himself:
"Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.
"That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.
0:00 / 0:00
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The gnome's gneiss

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The gnome's gneiss is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/86 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.
Line 2
The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.
/ðə dwɔːrf skrætʃt hɪz hed lɔːst ɪn diːp θɔːt/
Line 3
Then he began chanting to himself:
/ðen hiː bɪˈɡæn ˈtʃæntɪŋ tuː hɪmˈself/
Line 4
"Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.
Line 5
"That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

Learner Dictionary

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.

announced adjective US /əˈnaʊnst/

declared publicly; made widely known

From this reading “"That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.”

chanting noun US /ˈtʃæntɪŋ/

the act of singing in a monotonous tone

From this reading “Then he began chanting to himself:”

counting noun US /ˈkaʊntɪŋ/

the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order

From this reading “"Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.”

dwarf noun US /dwɔːrf/

a person who is markedly small

From this reading “The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.”

plus noun US /plʌs/

a useful or valuable quality

From this reading “"Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.”

scratched verb US /skrætʃt/

past form of “scratch” — cause friction

From this reading “The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.”

tenet noun US /ˈtenət/

a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof

From this reading “"Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.”

tomorrow noun US /təˈmɑːroʊ/

the day after today

From this reading “"That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

tomorrow morning noun + noun

In this reading “"That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.”

until tomorrow preposition + noun

In this reading “"That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.”

deep thought adjective + noun

In this reading “The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.”

All words in this reading · 57

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.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

announcedadjectiveUS /əˈnaʊnst/

declared publicly; made widely known

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

Aprilis

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

askedverbUS /æskt/

past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

beganverbUS /bɪˈɡæn/

inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

From this reading Then he began chanting to himself:

bissextus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

chantingnounUS /ˈtʃæntɪŋ/

the act of singing in a monotonous tone

From this reading Then he began chanting to himself:

countingnounUS /ˈkaʊntɪŋ/

the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

deepadjectiveUS /diːp/

relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

doesauxiliary verbUS /dʌz/

the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

dwarfnounUS /dwɔːrf/

a person who is markedly small

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

Februs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

finallyadverbUS /ˈfaɪnəli/

after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

fuerit

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

giveverbUS /ɡɪv/

cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Then he began chanting to himself:

headnounUS /hed/

the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Then he began chanting to himself:

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

How

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

Junius

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

Kevan

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

lostadjectiveUS /lɔːst/

no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

morningnounUS /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

the time period between dawn and noon

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

muchadverbUS /mʌtʃ/

to a great degree or extent

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

Novemq

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

octo

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

plusnounUS /plʌs/

a useful or valuable quality

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

reliqui

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

rolledadjectiveUS /roʊld/

especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

roofnounUS /ruːf/

a protective covering that covers or forms the top of a building

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

scratchedverbUS /skrætʃt/

past form of “scratch” — cause friction

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

seemedverbUS /siːmd/

past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

Septemq

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

sinounUS /siː/

a tetravalent nonmetallic element; next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand; used as a semiconductor in transistors

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

superadditur

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

tenetnounUS /ˈtenət/

a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

That'll

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

ThenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading Then he began chanting to himself:

thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought.

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading "How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Then he began chanting to himself:

tomorrownounUS /təˈmɑːroʊ/

the day after today

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

tricenos

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

Unum

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

unus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

vicenos

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos "Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos "At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus--" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.

Chapter 2 of The gnome's gneiss by Kendell Foster Crossen holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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.

What does chapter 2 of The gnome's gneiss contain?

Chapter 2 holds 432 sentences of The gnome's gneiss, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The gnome's gneiss by Kendell Foster Crossen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The gnome's gneiss?

Work through the 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 87 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The gnome's gneiss

Common questions about reading The gnome's gneiss by Kendell Foster Crossen on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The gnome's gneiss?

Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The gnome's gneiss is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The gnome's gneiss take to read?

About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The gnome's gneiss section by section

How to work through The gnome's gneiss section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The gnome's gneiss

Words and structures a reader meets early in The gnome's gneiss, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Chapter 1
One of the 0 chapters of The gnome's gneiss, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.
Chapter 2
One of the 0 chapters of The gnome's gneiss, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.
Chapter 3
One of the 0 chapters of The gnome's gneiss, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.