Chapter 8 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 536 sentences across 108 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 536 sentences across 108 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Buona sera, Signorina.” “Buona sera, Ruffo.” She did not feign surprise when he came up to her. “So you fish at night?” she said. “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
Chapter 8 of A Spirit in Prison is here in full — 536 sentences across 108 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/107 · 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.
many and different
From this reading ““I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.””
make believe with the intent to deceive
From this reading “She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.”
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading ““So you fish at night?” she said.”
female equine animal
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading ““So you fish at night?” she said.”
plural of “serum” — an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates
From this reading ““Buona sera, Signorina.””
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading “She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading ““I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.””
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.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “So you fish at night?” she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Buona sera, Signorina.”
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
many and different
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
make believe with the intent to deceive
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading “So you fish at night?” she said.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
female equine animal
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “So you fish at night?” she said.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Buona sera, Ruffo.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “So you fish at night?” she said.
plural of “serum” — an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates
From this reading “Buona sera, Signorina.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
an Italian courtesy title for an unmarried woman; equivalent to “Miss”, it is either used alone or before a name
From this reading “Buona sera, Signorina.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “So you fish at night?” she said.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought the divers for _frutti di mare_ did not do that.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
at the time that
From this reading She did not feign surprise when he came up to her.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “So you fish at night?” she said.
Chapter 8 of A Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens holds 536 sentences, grouped into 108 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 536 sentences of A Spirit in Prison, unabridged, divided into 108 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of A Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 536 sentences, grouped into 108 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 108 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 108 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 Spirit in Prison by Robert Hichens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15677 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2994 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2994, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3136 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Spirit in Prison section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of A Spirit in Prison 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 Spirit in Prison, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
