Chapter 8 of A Man Obsessed is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A Man Obsessed is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly. "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically. "It's time we got down to business, I think." CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face. His throat felt like sandpaper.
Chapter 8 of A Man Obsessed is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
in an apologetic manner
From this reading “"A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.”
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading “The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.”
possessive form of “doctor” — a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.”
stiff paper coated with powdered emery or sand
From this reading “His throat felt like sandpaper.”
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading “His throat felt like sandpaper.”
a developmental process
From this reading “The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.”
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.
a government report; bound in white
In this reading “The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.”
lower (one's body) as by kneeling
In this reading “"It's time we got down to business, I think."”
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 The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
in an apologetic manner
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
possessive form of “doctor” — a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
being one more than ten
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
opinion or judgment
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading His throat felt like sandpaper.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading His throat felt like sandpaper.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading CHAPTER ELEVEN Jeff raised his eyes to the doctor's face.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "A matter of business," he said, almost apologetically.
stiff paper coated with powdered emery or sand
From this reading His throat felt like sandpaper.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading His throat felt like sandpaper.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
a developmental process
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "It's time we got down to business, I think."
a Caucasian
From this reading The doctor smiled, and drew a crisp white paper from his pocket, began unfolding it slowly.
Chapter 8 of A Man Obsessed by Alan Edward Nourse holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 8 holds 403 sentences of A Man Obsessed, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A Man Obsessed by Alan Edward Nourse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Man Obsessed by Alan Edward Nourse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3705 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49531 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49531, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 308 minutes of reading across 741 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Man Obsessed section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of A Man Obsessed 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 Man Obsessed, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
