Chapter 2 of The Halo is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Halo is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her. Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial. There was a long pause. He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony. "Poor boy," she said gently.
Chapter 2 of The Halo is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 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.
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading “He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.”
placed in a grave
From this reading “Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.”
slightly wet
From this reading “Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.”
with great urgency
From this reading “He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.”
supporting yourself on your knees
From this reading “Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.”
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.”
weep convulsively
From this reading “He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.”
defying expression or description
From this reading “He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.”
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 There was a long pause.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
Extreme physical or mental suffering; intense anguish.
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Poor boy," she said gently.
placed in a grave
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
slightly wet
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
with great urgency
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
in a gradual manner
From this reading "Poor boy," she said gently.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
supporting yourself on your knees
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
without rigidity
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading There was a long pause.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading There was a long pause.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "Poor boy," she said gently.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Poor boy," she said gently.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
weep convulsively
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
not in physical motion
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a long pause.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Kneeling suddenly on the damp grass, he buried his face in his arms as they lay limply across the sun-dial.
defying expression or description
From this reading He did not sob, he was quite still, but every line of him proclaimed unspeakable agony.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading He was young, and French, and she was beautiful and he was desperately in love with her.
Chapter 2 of The Halo by Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum Stolzenberg holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 404 sentences of The Halo, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Halo by Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum Stolzenberg exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 The Halo by Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum Stolzenberg on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5305 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16909 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16909, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 442 minutes of reading across 1061 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Halo section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Halo 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 The Halo, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
