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The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Wilkie Collins • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

“It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

“It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter II Reading 1/27

The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/27 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

“It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

Line 2

“It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

Line 3

There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

Line 4

Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

Line 5

It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

All words in this reading · 45

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.

a

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

again

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

From this reading “It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

am

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

and

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

another

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

From this reading “It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

at

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

away

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

From this reading It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

be

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

From this reading “It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

by

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

came

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

From this reading It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

cruel

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

Doctor

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

fact

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

favourably

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

going

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

From this reading “It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

her

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

I

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

impressed

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

in

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

is

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

It

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

married

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

From this reading “It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

not

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

occurred

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

once

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

one

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

paused

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

sad

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

said

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

she

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

sir

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

slowly

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

From this reading It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

smile

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

smiled

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

some

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

something

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

suddenly

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

From this reading It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

that

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

There

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

thought

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

From this reading There she paused, and smiled at some thought that occurred to her.

to

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

From this reading “It is another fact, that I am going to be married again.”

was

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

went

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

From this reading It came slowly, and it went away suddenly.

widow

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

From this reading “It is one fact, sir, that I am a widow,” she said.

Wybrow

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

From this reading Doctor Wybrow was not favourably impressed by her smile—there was something at once sad and cruel in it.

Chapter 2 of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice contain?

Chapter 2 holds 138 sentences of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice?

Work through the 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 28 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 Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice

Common questions about reading The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice?

Yes. All 4082 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #170 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #170, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice take to read?

About 340 minutes of reading across 817 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice section by section

How to work through The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Reputation: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Doctor: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wybrow: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
London: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.