Chapter 8 of Cities of the Dawn is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Cities of the Dawn is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SMYRNA. I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world. There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts. The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends. The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
Chapter 8 of Cities of the Dawn is here in full — 59 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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 place where someone was born
From this reading “The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.”
past form of “claim” — assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
From this reading “The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.”
past form of “found” — set up or found
From this reading “The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.”
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading “The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.”
plural of “legend” — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading “The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.”
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
From this reading “The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.”
a port city in western Turkey
From this reading “SMYRNA.”
a disease of the central nervous system affecting especially horses and cattle; characterized by an unsteady swaying gait and frequent falling
From this reading “The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.”
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 history of the ancient world
In this reading “There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.”
In this reading “I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.”
In this reading “I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.”
In this reading “I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.”
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 There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
the place where someone was born
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
plural of “city” — a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
past form of “claim” — assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
plural of “figure” — a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
past form of “found” — set up or found
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
the aggregate of past events
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
a base hit on which the batter scores a run
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
plural of “legend” — a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
used to form the superlative
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
the local environment
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
a port city in western Turkey
From this reading SMYRNA.
a disease of the central nervous system affecting especially horses and cattle; characterized by an unsteady swaying gait and frequent falling
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The mind quite staggers under the ever-accumulating load of facts and figures and legends.
which person or people
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading There is a wonderful lot of ancient history in these parts.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
produce a literary work
From this reading I write now from one of the most ancient cities in the world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Æolians, who founded on this site the first Greek city, claimed it as the birthplace of Homer.
Chapter 8 of Cities of the Dawn by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie holds 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 59 sentences of Cities of the Dawn, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Cities of the Dawn by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 59 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 Cities of the Dawn by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2476 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36084 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36084, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 206 minutes of reading across 496 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cities of the Dawn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Cities of the Dawn 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 Cities of the Dawn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
