Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Two on a Tower
Two on a Tower

Chapter XVIII

Cover illustration for Two on a Tower
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.
'But I quite lost sight of him.'
'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.
This lad was an only child.
There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Two on a Tower

Chapter XVIII

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.
Line 2
'But I quite lost sight of him.'
Line 3
'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.
Line 4
This lad was an only child.
Line 5
There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.”

Here noun US /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.”

Quite noun US /quite/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “'But I quite lost sight of him.'”

Resumed noun US /ˈresumed/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.”

All words in this reading · 71

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

affirmed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading This lad was an only child.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

Bishop

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading 'But I quite lost sight of him.'

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

child

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This lad was an only child.

content

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

contracted

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

curate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

daughter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

economy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

educate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

enough

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

erratic

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

farmer

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

gentry

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

greatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

herenounUS /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading 'But I quite lost sight of him.'

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading 'But I quite lost sight of him.'

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

independent

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

lad

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This lad was an only child.

late

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

liked

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

live

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

local

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

lost

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'But I quite lost sight of him.'

man

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

marriage

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

money

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

much

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This lad was an only child.

parish

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

parson

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

provided

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

quarrelled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

quitenounUS /quite/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading 'But I quite lost sight of him.'

rashly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

resumednounUS /ˈresumed/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

sight

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'But I quite lost sight of him.'

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

sufficiently

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

taking

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

talent

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

tastes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

tendencies

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

There

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading This lad was an only child.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

up

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

vicar

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading 'He was a man of talent,' affirmed the Bishop.

well

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.

wife

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading 'He was curate to the late vicar,' resumed the parson, 'and was much liked by the parish: but, being erratic in his tastes and tendencies, he rashly contracted a marriage with the daughter of a farmer, and then quarrelled with the local gentry for not taking up his wife.

world

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was enough money to educate him, and he is sufficiently well provided for to be independent of the world so long as he is content to live here with great economy.