Chapter 1 of The Second Violin is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Second Violin is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Crash! Bang! Bang! "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end. John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
Chapter 1 of The Second Violin is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
From this reading “"_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.”
strike violently
From this reading “Bang!”
hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
From this reading “John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.”
fall or come down violently
From this reading “Crash!”
capital of the state of Michigan; located in southern Michigan on the Grand River
From this reading “John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.”
plural of “pilgrim” — someone who journeys in foreign lands
any of the numerous plants of the genus Viola
From this reading “John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.”
past form of “whirl” — turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading “John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
strike violently
From this reading Bang!
hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
fall or come down violently
From this reading Crash!
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
set down according to a plan
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
capital of the state of Michigan; located in southern Michigan on the Grand River
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
march in a procession
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
plural of “pilgrim” — someone who journeys in foreign lands
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "_The March of the Pilgrims_" came to an abrupt end.
any of the numerous plants of the genus Viola
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
past form of “whirl” — turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading John Lansing Birch laid down his viola and bow, whirled about, and flung out his arms in despair.
Chapter 1 of The Second Violin by Grace S. (Grace Smith) Richmond holds 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 1 holds 225 sentences of The Second Violin, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Second Violin by Grace S. (Grace Smith) Richmond exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 1 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 Second Violin by Grace S. (Grace Smith) Richmond on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4582 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13209 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13209, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 381 minutes of reading across 917 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Second Violin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of The Second Violin 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 Second Violin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
