Chapter 8 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883. ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude. ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’ ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’ ‘That’s calling him a liar.’
Chapter 8 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading “‘That’s calling him a liar.’”
a boy or man
From this reading “‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’”
past form of “erect” — construct, build, or erect
From this reading “SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.”
past form of “kick” — drive or propel with the foot
From this reading “‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’”
a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
From this reading “‘That’s calling him a liar.’”
a female domestic
From this reading “‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’”
(Old Testament) Hebrew prophet and judge who anointed Saul as king
From this reading “SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.”
a payment for consecutive issues of a newspaper or magazine for a given period of time
From this reading “SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
showing who or what does the action
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading ‘That’s calling him a liar.’
a boy or man
From this reading ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
past form of “erect” — construct, build, or erect
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
at any time
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ‘That’s calling him a liar.’
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude.
past form of “kick” — drive or propel with the foot
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly
From this reading ‘That’s calling him a liar.’
a female domestic
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘He’s not a bad-looking chap, is he?’
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
English diarist whose diary contained detailed descriptions of 17th century disasters in England (1633-1703)
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ‘Oh, isn’t he nice?’ said Maude.
(Old Testament) Hebrew prophet and judge who anointed Saul as king
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
a payment for consecutive issues of a newspaper or magazine for a given period of time
From this reading SAMUEL PEPYS Erected by public subscription 1883.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘That’s calling him a liar.’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading ‘I don’t believe that man ever could have struck his wife or kicked the maid.’
Chapter 8 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus by Arthur Conan Doyle holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 8 holds 407 sentences of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus by Arthur Conan Doyle exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 8 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 A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus by Arthur Conan Doyle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5435 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5260 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5260, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 452 minutes of reading across 1087 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus 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 A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
