Chapter 8 of Green Doors is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Green Doors is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night. I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word. But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning. The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money. Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.
Chapter 8 of Green Doors is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading “But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.”
plural of “close” — the temporal end; the concluding time
From this reading “Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.”
plural of “gallon” — United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading “I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.”
a volatile flammable mixture of hydrocarbons (hexane and heptane and octane etc.) derived from petroleum; used mainly as a fuel in internal-combustion engines
From this reading ““Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.”
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading “But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.”
at any time that; every time that
From this reading “Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.”
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 ““Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.”
In this reading “I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.”
recover something or somebody that appeared to be lost
In this reading “But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.”
In this reading “But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.”
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 I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
for the reason that
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
plural of “close” — the temporal end; the concluding time
From this reading Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
plural of “gallon” — United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
a volatile flammable mixture of hydrocarbons (hexane and heptane and octane etc.) derived from petroleum; used mainly as a fuel in internal-combustion engines
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
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 I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
on one occasion
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
express in words
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
express in speech
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.
two times
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
up to a particular time
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading The nurse had slept there and was waiting for her money.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But I didn’t realize it was because I couldn’t speak until I got back to the apartment in the morning.
at any time that; every time that
From this reading Yes, my throat closes up whenever I try to speak.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading I held up my fingers to show how many gallons and didn’t say a word.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, I stopped for gasoline once or twice during the night.
Chapter 8 of Green Doors by Ethel Cook Eliot holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 426 sentences of Green Doors, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Green Doors by Ethel Cook Eliot exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Green Doors by Ethel Cook Eliot on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6590 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52531 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52531, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 549 minutes of reading across 1318 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Green Doors section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Green Doors 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 Green Doors, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
