Chapter 8 of Beyond Rope and Fence is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Beyond Rope and Fence is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring. Geese returned from the south. The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth. The snows melted almost in a day. Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
Chapter 8 of Beyond Rope and Fence is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
small wolf native to western North America
From this reading “THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.”
plural of “goose” — web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading “Geese returned from the south.”
plural of “hollow” — a cavity or space in something
From this reading “Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.”
-ing form of “honk” — make a loud noise
From this reading “The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.”
furnished with inhabitants
From this reading “Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.”
after death the soul begins a new cycle of existence in another human body
From this reading “The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.”
plural of “slough” — necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass
From this reading “Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.”
plural of “snow” — precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading “The snows melted almost in a day.”
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.
In this reading “Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.”
In this reading “Geese returned from the south.”
In this reading “Geese returned from the south.”
In this reading “The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.”
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 snows melted almost in a day.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The snows melted almost in a day.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
small wolf native to western North America
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The snows melted almost in a day.
greatly pleasing or entertaining
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
plural of “duck” — small wild or domesticated web-footed broad-billed swimming bird usually having a depressed body and short legs
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
plural of “evening” — the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Geese returned from the south.
plural of “goose” — web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks
From this reading Geese returned from the south.
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
plural of “hollow” — a cavity or space in something
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
-ing form of “honk” — make a loud noise
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
plural of “hundred” — ten 10s
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
changed from a solid to a liquid state
From this reading The snows melted almost in a day.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
furnished with inhabitants
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
after death the soul begins a new cycle of existence in another human body
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Geese returned from the south.
emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
plural of “slough” — necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
plural of “snow” — precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading The snows melted almost in a day.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Geese returned from the south.
the season of growth
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading THE CONSPIRACY OF MAN AND COYOTE THEN came an early spring.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading The sadness in their honking had given way to the exaltation of rebirth.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Hundreds of wild ducks populated the many sloughs in the hollows, and filled the delightful evenings with the soft calling of their love-making.
Chapter 8 of Beyond Rope and Fence by David Grew holds 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 272 sentences of Beyond Rope and Fence, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Beyond Rope and Fence by David Grew exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 Beyond Rope and Fence by David Grew on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2221 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63745 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63745, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 185 minutes of reading across 445 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beyond Rope and Fence section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Beyond Rope and Fence 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 Beyond Rope and Fence, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
