Chapter 2 of The Serpent River is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Serpent River is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I have learned to talk," I said. "You have had a long sleep." "I am well again. See, I can almost walk." But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
Chapter 2 of The Serpent River is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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 cherished desire
From this reading “But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.”
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading “But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.”
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading “"I have learned to talk," I said.”
cool and formal in manner
From this reading “But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.”
move upward
From this reading “But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “See, I can almost walk."”
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading “But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.”
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading “But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.”
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.
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 "You have had a long sleep."
anew
From this reading "I am well again.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading See, I can almost walk."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am well again.
a cherished desire
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading See, I can almost walk."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "You have had a long sleep."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I have learned to talk," I said.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I have learned to talk," I said.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading "I have learned to talk," I said.
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 "You have had a long sleep."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
cool and formal in manner
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
move upward
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I have learned to talk," I said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading See, I can almost walk."
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading "You have had a long sleep."
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "I have learned to talk," I said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I have learned to talk," I said.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading See, I can almost walk."
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading But as I started to rise, the wave of blackness warned me, and I restrained my ambition.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "I am well again.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have had a long sleep."
Chapter 2 of The Serpent River by Don Wilcox holds 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 457 sentences of The Serpent River, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Serpent River by Don Wilcox exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 Serpent River by Don Wilcox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1373 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50923 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50923, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 114 minutes of reading across 275 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Serpent River section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Serpent River 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 Serpent River, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
