Chapter 2 of The Reign of Gilt is here in full — 92 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Reign of Gilt is here in full — 92 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam. Its wall rises bare and sheer. You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.” But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara. You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
Chapter 2 of The Reign of Gilt is here in full — 92 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
From this reading “THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.”
-ing form of “extend” — extend in scope or range or area
From this reading “You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.”
plural of “fathom” — a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth
From this reading “You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.”
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading “THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.”
an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action
From this reading “THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.”
waterfall in Canada is the Horseshoe Falls; in the United States it is the American Falls
From this reading “But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.”
plural of “swell” — the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
From this reading “But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.”
a steep descent of the water of a river
From this reading “But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.”
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 “You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.”
In this reading “You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.”
at or in the front
In this reading “THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.”
In this reading “You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.”
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 THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Its wall rises bare and sheer.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
completely unclothed
From this reading Its wall rises bare and sheer.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water or to keep out the sea
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
divisible by two
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
-ing form of “extend” — extend in scope or range or area
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
plural of “fathom” — a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its wall rises bare and sheer.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
waterfall in Canada is the Horseshoe Falls; in the United States it is the American Falls
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
plural of “rise” — a growth in strength or number or importance
From this reading Its wall rises bare and sheer.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
express in words
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Its wall rises bare and sheer.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
be standing; be upright
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
plural of “swell” — the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
in or at that place or location
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Its wall rises bare and sheer.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
a steep descent of the water of a river
From this reading But even as you think this, the dam becomes a waterfall, and the waterfall swells into a Niagara.
in or at the place that
From this reading You go round where you see the other side; you find a lake fathoms deep and extending miles up the valley.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE MANIA FOR GILT You stand in front of a huge dam.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading You say to yourself: “There can be little water behind it.”
Chapter 2 of The Reign of Gilt by David Graham Phillips holds 92 sentences, grouped into 19 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 92 sentences of The Reign of Gilt, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Reign of Gilt by David Graham Phillips exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 92 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 Reign of Gilt by David Graham Phillips on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2505 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64402 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64402, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 208 minutes of reading across 501 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Reign of Gilt section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Reign of Gilt 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 Reign of Gilt, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
