Chapter 2 of Vaiti of the Islands is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Vaiti of the Islands is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain. “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million. Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.” “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris. “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
Chapter 2 of Vaiti of the Islands is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.””
a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading ““But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.”
form a curve
From this reading ““Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.”
a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen
From this reading ““Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.”
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading ““You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.”
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading ““You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.”
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading ““Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.”
plural of “skull” — the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
From this reading ““But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.”
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.
hold firmly
In this reading ““Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.”
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 “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
a public promotion of some product or service
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
possessing life
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
Having no one else present.
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
form a curve
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen
From this reading “Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
the total spent for goods or services including money and time and labor
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
the act of departing
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
United States author who wrote the stories about Uncle Remus (1848-1908)
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
discontinued temporarily
From this reading “Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
set down according to a plan
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
plural of “skull” — the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Hold on,” interrupted the boatswain.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Man alive, she ain’t laid down on the same lines as them Frenchwomen, anyway.”
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
which person or people
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “But what beats me is _who_ she’s going to do with them skulls, and _how_.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “Why, if she ’ad one of those gownds, she couldn’t bend it on to her yards, not if it cost a million.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You let her alone for that,” chuckled Harris.
Chapter 2 of Vaiti of the Islands by Beatrice Grimshaw holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 445 sentences of Vaiti of the Islands, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Vaiti of the Islands by Beatrice Grimshaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Vaiti of the Islands by Beatrice Grimshaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3139 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50663 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50663, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 261 minutes of reading across 628 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vaiti of the Islands section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Vaiti of the Islands 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 Vaiti of the Islands, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
