Chapter 2 of The painted swan is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The painted swan is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome. I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult. ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always. TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool. ANN: You’re teasing me.
Chapter 2 of The painted swan is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading “TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.”
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading “TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.”
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.”
plural of “reinforcement” — a military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission
From this reading “ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.”
the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances
From this reading “ANN: You’re teasing me.”
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading “TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.”
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.
judge to be probable
In this reading “TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.”
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 TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
(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 ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
dearly loved
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
the act of departing
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading TIM: You are so nice, dearest, that you count on my being a fool.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
plural of “reinforcement” — a military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances
From this reading ANN: You’re teasing me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ANN: My dear, I need all of the reinforcements that you can give me—always.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading TIM: Please don’t think that I am going to be tiresome.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
at the time that
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I do try to keep my thoughts away from you when you don’t want them, but it is so difficult.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ANN: You’re teasing me.
Chapter 2 of The painted swan by Elizabeth Bibesco holds 431 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.
Chapter 2 holds 431 sentences of The painted swan, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The painted swan by Elizabeth Bibesco exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 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.
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.
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 painted swan by Elizabeth Bibesco on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The painted swan section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The painted swan 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 painted swan, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
