Chapter 14 of The Two Destinies is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIV
Chapter 14 of The Two Destinies is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me. He had his hat on. We had evidently met just as he was going out. "My dear sir, how good this is of you! You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
Chapter 14 of The Two Destinies is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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 hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.”
German statesman who as chancellor of West Germany worked to reduce tensions with eastern Europe (1913-1992)
From this reading “As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “We had evidently met just as he was going out.”
held up in the air
From this reading “As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.”
-ing form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.”
plural of “reply” — a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.”
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.”
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading “As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.”
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 As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
(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 You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
German statesman who as chancellor of West Germany worked to reduce tensions with eastern Europe (1913-1992)
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
dearly loved
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading We had evidently met just as he was going out.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
the act of departing
From this reading We had evidently met just as he was going out.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had his hat on.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
headdress that protects the head from bad weather; has shaped crown and usually a brim
From this reading He had his hat on.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had his hat on.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had his hat on.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
and nothing more
From this reading We had evidently met just as he was going out.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
held up in the air
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading We had evidently met just as he was going out.
a form of address for a man
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
not any; not one
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He had his hat on.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading We had evidently met just as he was going out.
a human being
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
-ing form of “present” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
plural of “reply” — a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
term of address for a man
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We had evidently met just as he was going out.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading As I lifted my hand to ring the house bell, the door was opened from within, and no less a person than Mr. Van Brandt himself stood before me.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "My dear sir, how good this is of you!
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading You present the best of all replies to my letter in presenting yourself.
Chapter 14 of The Two Destinies by Wilkie Collins holds 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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.
Chapter 14 holds 230 sentences of The Two Destinies, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 14 of The Two Destinies by Wilkie Collins exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 14 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.
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Yes. All 5554 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1624 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1624, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 462 minutes of reading across 1111 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Two Destinies section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of The Two Destinies 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 Two Destinies, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
