Chapter 8 of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SWIM FOR LIFE. "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself. And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide. "It's all my fault," he continued. "I thought I tied her fast.
Chapter 8 of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker is here in full — 158 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading “And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “"We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.”
in a swift manner
From this reading “And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.”
travel through water
From this reading “A SWIM FOR LIFE.”
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading “And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.”
bound or secured closely
From this reading “"I thought I tied her fast.”
forced to turn and face attackers
From this reading “And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.”
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “"We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.”
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.
the occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide)
In this reading “And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.”
In this reading “And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.”
In this reading “"We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.”
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 A SWIM FOR LIFE.
(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 "It's all my fault," he continued.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
providing no shelter or sustenance
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
without stop or interruption
From this reading "It's all my fault," he continued.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading "I thought I tied her fast.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading "It's all my fault," he continued.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A SWIM FOR LIFE.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's all my fault," he continued.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I thought I tied her fast.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I thought I tied her fast.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's all my fault," he continued.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading A SWIM FOR LIFE.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It's all my fault," he continued.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
in the near future
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
in a swift manner
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
travel through water
From this reading A SWIM FOR LIFE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I thought I tied her fast.
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
bound or secured closely
From this reading "I thought I tied her fast.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
forced to turn and face attackers
From this reading And indeed it looked bad for the four boys, trapped on a barren rock soon to be covered by the swiftly rising tide.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "We're in for it now!" said Jimmy in a voice which trembled in spite of himself.
Chapter 8 of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker by Matthew M. Colton holds 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 158 sentences of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker by Matthew M. Colton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 158 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker by Matthew M. Colton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3812 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48849 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48849, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 317 minutes of reading across 763 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker 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 Frank Armstrong, Drop Kicker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
