Chapter 8 of Following the Equator is here in full — 521 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Following the Equator is here in full — 521 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.” The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares! —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar. Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort. We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
Chapter 8 of Following the Equator is here in full — 521 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/104 · 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.
a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony
From this reading “Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.”
a system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading “—Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.”
in tiny pieces
From this reading “We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.”
(anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)
From this reading “The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!”
possessive form of “queen” — the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading “There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.””
written for or performed on the stage
From this reading “We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.”
not known or well known
From this reading “Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.”
possessive form of “wilson” — author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading “—Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.”
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 property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colony
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
a system of timekeeping that defines the beginning and length and divisions of the year
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
in tiny pieces
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
many times at short intervals
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
(anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
not any; not one
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
possessive form of “queen” — the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
the painted structures of a stage set that are intended to suggest a particular locale
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
plural of “share” — assets belonging to or due to or contributed by an individual person or group
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
written for or performed on the stage
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
the capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares entitling holders to an ownership interest
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
a special situation
From this reading There is no such thing as “the Queen's English.”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
not known or well known
From this reading Frequently, in Australia, one has cloud-effects of an unfamiliar sort.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading We had this kind of scenery, finely staged, all the way to Ballarat.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!
possessive form of “wilson” — author of the first novel by an African American that was published in the United States (1808-1870)
From this reading —Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar.
Chapter 8 of Following the Equator by Mark Twain holds 521 sentences, grouped into 105 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 521 sentences of Following the Equator, unabridged, divided into 105 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Following the Equator by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 521 sentences, grouped into 105 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 105 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 105 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 Following the Equator by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9162 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2895 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2895, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1833 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Following the Equator section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Following the Equator 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 Following the Equator, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
