Chapter 10 of Vivian's Lesson is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of Vivian's Lesson is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BURGLARS. NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind. The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once. ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously. ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
Chapter 10 of Vivian's Lesson is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading “The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.”
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.”
plural of “burglar” — a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
From this reading “BURGLARS.”
a long narrow depression in a surface
From this reading “NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.”
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading “The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.”
the ability to recall past occurrences
From this reading “The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.”
possessive form of “yesterday” — the day immediately before today
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 “NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.”
In this reading “NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.”
In this reading “The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.”
In this reading “NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.”
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 NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
any thing at all
From this reading ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
plural of “burglar” — a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
From this reading BURGLARS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
a long narrow depression in a surface
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
past form of “flash” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
on one occasion
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
in a peevish manner
From this reading ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously.
the ability to recall past occurrences
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading ‘It’s gray-dark, so you can’t see anything.’
having a supporting base
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEXT morning Vivian awoke to find Ronald standing on a chair peering through a crevice of the blind.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
possessive form of “yesterday” — the day immediately before today
From this reading The remembrance of yesterday’s disaster flashed into his mind, and he was wide awake at once.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘Whatever are you doing?’ he asked querulously.
Chapter 10 of Vivian's Lesson by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 10 holds 151 sentences of Vivian's Lesson, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of Vivian's Lesson by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 10 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 Vivian's Lesson by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2236 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50659 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50659, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 186 minutes of reading across 448 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vivian's Lesson section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Vivian's Lesson 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 Vivian's Lesson, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
