Chapter 2 of The Van Roon is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Van Roon is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It mayn’t be, you know.” He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world. “_Ars est celare artem_,” he said. “What do you mean by that?” “Life is short, art eternal.
Chapter 2 of The Van Roon is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading “He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.”
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading ““Life is short, art eternal.”
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.”
standard time in the 5th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern United States
From this reading ““_Ars est celare artem_,” he said.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading ““Life is short, art eternal.”
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading “He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.”
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading ““Life is short, art eternal.”
make an effort or attempt
From this reading “He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.”
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 ““What do you mean by that?””
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 He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_Ars est celare artem_,” he said.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Life is short, art eternal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_Ars est celare artem_,” he said.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “It mayn’t be, you know.”
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “What do you mean by that?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_Ars est celare artem_,” he said.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you mean by that?”
standard time in the 5th time zone west of Greenwich, reckoned at the 75th meridian; used in the eastern United States
From this reading “_Ars est celare artem_,” he said.
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “Life is short, art eternal.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Life is short, art eternal.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It mayn’t be, you know.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “It mayn’t be, you know.”
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “Life is short, art eternal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It mayn’t be, you know.”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “What do you mean by that?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “_Ars est celare artem_,” he said.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading “Life is short, art eternal.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “What do you mean by that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you mean by that?”
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
but in spite of that
From this reading He had begun already to try, but as yet it was a secret from the world.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It mayn’t be, you know.”
Chapter 2 of The Van Roon by J. C. (John Collis) Snaith holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 424 sentences of The Van Roon, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Van Roon by J. C. (John Collis) Snaith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Van Roon by J. C. (John Collis) Snaith 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 Van Roon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Van Roon 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 Van Roon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
