The black pearl: 40 words to know before you read it
The 40 words Marie Lion uses again and again in The black pearl that are outside the 4,000 most common in English. Learn them first and the opening chapters read much more easily. Each comes with its pronunciation and a sentence from the book.
aunt/ˈænt/26× in the book
… ‘Old Meg,’ who directs everything here and holds us in ‘the path of virtue’ with an iron hand—Meg, your aunt’s faithful maid for thirty years, and now the right hand of Molly …
honour/ˈɑnɝ/17× in the book
I am sure that a Martian savant ere this has discovered the cause, and explained it as a ceremony celebrated in honour of our satellite.”
pearls/ˈpɝɫz/15× in the book
I have had it attached as a pendant to a string of pearls of my own, which will look much better on your white neck than in my casket.”
scarcely/ˈskɛɹsɫi/15× in the book
Absence does not stop the everlasting pæan of praise, for as it is, he is scarcely ever at home.
murmur/ˈmɝmɝ/15× in the book
I murmured, wonderingly, to Daisy.
pearl/ˈpɝɫ/14× in the book
“I want to give you a black pearl which I have been keeping in trust.
mistress/ˈmɪstɹəs/14× in the book
“Now you have seen the real mistress of Gwylata, Jeannette …
necklace/ˈnɛkɫəs/14× in the book
In it lies a necklace composed of exquisite pearls, some white and milky, others gleaming opalesquely in tints merging from grey to rose.
sacrifice/ˈsækɹəˌfaɪs/13× in the book
She would suffer martyrdom herself and sacrifice everybody for Molly, and, above all, for Hector.”
verandah11× in the book
I run to the verandah to see this relic of bygone days.
utter/ˈətɝ/11× in the book
“Who is this man, an utter stranger an hour ago, whose gaze stirs my pulses, rousing latent forces and strangely elusive memories?
exclaim/ɪkˈskɫeɪm/11× in the book
“What a contrast to the ‘Brasier’ motor in which you drove me here yesterday, uncle,” I exclaim.
affection/əˈfɛkʃən/11× in the book
I have as much need of affection as of air.
awaken/əˈweɪkən/10× in the book
It is rather a kind of obsession, a response to the appeal in his eyes which awakens something obscure, half forgotten.
delight/dɪˈɫaɪt/10× in the book
It is one of my greatest delights to get him to talk during our rides.
charm/ˈtʃɑɹm/10× in the book
While I contemplate this charming production of budding genius, Mr. Deslandes enters my little sitting-room, to which he has admission at all times.
keen/ˈkin/9× in the book
… the need of devoting myself to someone or something; the keen suffering I experience when I find myself in a chilly atmosphere of indifference.
betray/bɪˈtɹeɪ/9× in the book
In the unconscious pride underlying the belief that all customs are perfect because they are English, there is betrayed a certain strength of character and will which refuses to be influenced by environment.
bush/ˈbʊʃ/8× in the book
Yesterday a motor, to-day the old coach which carries letters to far-off bush homes, among them probably some from the Old World by the Messageries Boat on which you were a passenger.”
sombre8× in the book
Tall palms bent their sombre tufted heads and plantains waved their pale green leaves in the breeze.
morrow/ˈmɑɹoʊ/8× in the book
… unless,” bowing profoundly, “you will allow me to take his place and ride with you to-morrow.”
yacht/ˈjɑt/8× in the book
“He has a big yacht as big as a ship,” says Gladys, extending her small arms.
tremble/ˈtɹɛmbəɫ/8× in the book
A kiss soft as a sigh brushes my trembling lips.
glow/ˈɡɫoʊ/8× in the book
His eyes, brilliant windows of the soul imprisoned in his stunted graceless body, glow at this proof of confidence.
tender/ˈtɛndɝ/8× in the book
Passionate, yet tender, evoking a shadowy, dim remembrance of forgotten things, it allures even while it repels me.
calm/ˈkɑɫm/8× in the book
I wonder if one day I also shall come across a man who will love me simply and purely with a calm, untroubled affection like theirs …
magnetism/ˈmæɡnəˌtɪzəm/7× in the book
Pearls are feminine, it is said, and want light, heat and the magnetism of soft, warm flesh, or they lose their colour and die.”
recognise/ˈɹɛkəɡˌnaɪz/7× in the book
It is with the greatest astonishment that I recognise almost all the ritual of the Mass—the Vestments of the priest, the Crucifix, the flowers, and even the candles burning on the altar.
wherein/hwɛˈɹɪn/7× in the book
I have had a strange dream wherein, by a sort of dual personality, I beheld myself smaller and slimmer.
detach/ˈdɪˌtætʃ/7× in the book
The gigantic trees, with their twisted branches and gnarled trunks detached against the sombre background of sapphire, recall the weird eerie effects of Gustave Doré.
vibrate/ˈvaɪbɹeɪt/7× in the book
As I pass out he whispers in a tone vibrating with triumph, “A demain.”
carriage/ˈkæɹɪdʒ/7× in the book
I am still too much of a novice in the equestrian art to do other than venture the mild excitement of following the hounds in a carriage.
evidently/ˈɛvədəntɫi/7× in the book
He has evidently determined to make me a good horsewoman.
beloved/bɪˈɫəvd/7× in the book
… taking with us Daisy, who can scarcely tear herself from her beloved Dick.
regain/ɹɪˈɡeɪn/7× in the book
His short absence enables me to regain mastery over my feelings, and to analyse the bewildering sensations I have just experienced.
cottage/ˈkɑtədʒ/7× in the book
On the road, I remarked a cottage where the wife was doing the family washing, hanging the clothes on ropes suspended between gum trees, which apparently serve many purposes.
mysterious/mɪˈstɪɹiəs/7× in the book
The man with the mysterious eyes is standing before me.
divine/dɪˈvaɪn/7× in the book
reçoit participation insigne de sa prime et divine origine et en contemplation de cette infinie sphère à laquelle rien n’advient, rien ne passe …
descend/dɪˈsɛnd/7× in the book
It is the only souvenir which remained to your mother of her great ancestress, the Begum Jeanne, wife of Dupleix, from whom she was so proud to have descended.
favourite/ˈfeɪvɝɪt/6× in the book
… containing all I possess in the world, my favourite books and the presents of my Parisian school-mates whom I left in tears at the idea of my departure for the antipodes—“a country of kangaroos and savages, where I would surely be eaten alive,” they sobbed.
Pronunciation: ipa-dict (MIT), from Wiktionary.
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