Chapter 8 of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me. The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth. He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud. "You smile? It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
Chapter 8 of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
more than enough in size or scope or capacity
From this reading “He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.”
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading “He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.”
plural of “blush” — a rosy color (especially in the cheeks) taken as a sign of good health
From this reading “It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.”
make overcast or cloudy
From this reading “He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.”
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading “He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.”
refrain from harming
From this reading “It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.”
determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
From this reading “Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.”
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 “The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.”
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 Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
more than enough in size or scope or capacity
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
inflected form of “blow” — exhale hard
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
plural of “blush” — a rosy color (especially in the cheeks) taken as a sign of good health
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
make overcast or cloudy
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
immediately past
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading "You smile?
refrain from harming
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
uttered through the medium of speech or characterized by speech; sometimes used in combination
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He took it out now by an ample movement of his arm and blew a thin cloud.
determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Marlow paused with a whimsical look at me.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The last few words he had spoken with the cigar in his teeth.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would have been more kind to spare my blushes.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You smile?
Chapter 8 of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Chance: A Tale in Two Parts by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Chance: A Tale in Two Parts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Chance: A Tale in Two Parts 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 Chance: A Tale in Two Parts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
