Chapter 2 of Venus Boy is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Venus Boy is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Taken aback, the trader nodded. "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness." Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder. "Not to mention the colony," he went on. "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
Chapter 2 of Venus Boy is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
having the wind against the forward side of the sails
From this reading “Taken aback, the trader nodded.”
a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
From this reading “"Not to mention the colony," he went on.”
possessive form of “johnny” — “Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading “Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.”
make reference to
From this reading “"Not to mention the colony," he went on.”
(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
From this reading “"We have a pretty big stake in that bear."”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.”
someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold
From this reading “Taken aback, the trader nodded.”
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.”
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 “"That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “"Not to mention the colony," he went on.”
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 "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
having the wind against the forward side of the sails
From this reading Taken aback, the trader nodded.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
have
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
a social unit living together
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
possessive form of “johnny” — “Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
make reference to
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Taken aback, the trader nodded.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
(law) a right or legal share of something; a financial involvement with something
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Taken aback, the trader nodded.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Taken aback, the trader nodded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold
From this reading Taken aback, the trader nodded.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have a pretty big stake in that bear."
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Not to mention the colony," he went on.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading "That goes for the whole family, Mr. Harkness."
possessive form of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading Johnny's father stepped forward straight and tall and put his arm around his wife's shoulder.
Chapter 2 of Venus Boy by Lee Sutton holds 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 431 sentences of Venus Boy, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Venus Boy by Lee Sutton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Venus Boy by Lee Sutton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3860 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Venus Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Venus Boy 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 Venus Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
