Chapter 8 of Jan Vedder's Wife is here in full — 370 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Jan Vedder's Wife is here in full — 370 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DEATH AND CHANGE. "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living." When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him. He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own. "Oh Jan, how could'st thou?
Chapter 8 of Jan Vedder's Wife is here in full — 370 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.”
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading “He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.”
in a faint and feeble manner
From this reading “He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.”
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading “When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.”
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading “He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.”
an old word for “yours”
From this reading “"Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."”
have and exercise
From this reading “"Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."”
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 “He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DEATH AND CHANGE.
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 "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
next to; at the side of
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading DEATH AND CHANGE.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh Jan, how could'st thou?
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading DEATH AND CHANGE.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
in a faint and feeble manner
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh Jan, how could'st thou?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
not in physical motion
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh Jan, how could'st thou?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
and nothing more
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
having a supporting base
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
an old word for “yours”
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading "Oh Jan, how could'st thou?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
up to a particular time
From this reading He feebly stretched out his hand, and pulled him close, closer, until his face was on the pillow beside his own.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
at the time that
From this reading When Jan awoke Snorro was standing motionless beside him.
have and exercise
From this reading "Wield thine own arm!--the only way To know life is by living."
Chapter 8 of Jan Vedder's Wife by Amelia E. Barr holds 370 sentences, grouped into 74 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 370 sentences of Jan Vedder's Wife, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Jan Vedder's Wife by Amelia E. Barr exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 370 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 Jan Vedder's Wife by Amelia E. Barr on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4200 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32144, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 350 minutes of reading across 840 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jan Vedder's Wife section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Jan Vedder's Wife 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 Jan Vedder's Wife, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
