Chapter IV of Two Women, “The Doctor Speaks,” is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter IV of Two Women, “The Doctor Speaks,” is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
|I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath. She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it. After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness. “You--you have escaped from prison!” I faltered out.
Chapter IV of Two Women, “The Doctor Speaks,” is here in full — 248 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
propose a payment
From this reading “After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.”
believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others
From this reading “She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.”
the pleasure felt when having a good time
From this reading “She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.”
past form of “falter” — be unsure or weak
From this reading “I faltered out.”
inflected form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “|I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.”
treat with contempt
From this reading “After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.”
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading “After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.”
-ing form of “witness” — be a witness to
From this reading “She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.”
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 “|I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.”
In this reading “|I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.”
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 After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
later than; following
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
propose a payment
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
a ceremonial manner
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
confess to a punishable or reprehensible deed, usually under pressure
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
the pleasure felt when having a good time
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “You--you have escaped from prison!”
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
past form of “falter” — be unsure or weak
From this reading I faltered out.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “You--you have escaped from prison!”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You--you have escaped from prison!”
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
inflected form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
treat with contempt
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I faltered out.
a legal document giving official permission to do something
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading “You--you have escaped from prison!”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
a feeling of stupefied astonishment
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading |I confess my heart leapt into my throat, and I gasped for breath.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
in the company of; together with
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
-ing form of “witness” — be a witness to
From this reading She, witnessing my stupefaction, laughed, as if in cynical enjoyment of it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading After a little: “I think now you will permit me to bid you good evening,” she said with mock ceremoniousness.
Chapter 4 of Two Women by Henry Harland holds 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 4 holds 248 sentences of Two Women, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Two Women by Henry Harland exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 248 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 4 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 Two Women by Henry Harland on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1905 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51986 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51986, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 158 minutes of reading across 381 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Two Women section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Two Women 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 Two Women, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
