Chapter 8 of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“H’m!” said Strickland. “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road. This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence]. All right.” In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
Chapter 8 of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.”
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading “In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.”
superlative of “keen” — having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading “In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.”
as yourself
From this reading “This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].”
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].”
United States architect and student of Latrobe (1787-1854)
From this reading ““H’m!” said Strickland.”
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading “In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.”
the topmost one of two
From this reading “In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.”
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 “In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.”
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 thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
(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 All right.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
a member of an armed gang of robbers
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “H’m!” said Strickland.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
an impudent statement
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
superlative of “keen” — having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
as yourself
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
precisely, exactly
From this reading All right.”
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “H’m!” said Strickland.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
United States architect and student of Latrobe (1787-1854)
From this reading “H’m!” said Strickland.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
plural of “thief” — a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is meant for me personally—sheer _badmashi_ [impudence].
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
the topmost one of two
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
precisely as stated
From this reading In justice to a very hard-working class it must be said that the thieves of Upper India have the keenest sense of humour.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I thought they wouldn’t dacoit as a business on the Dalhousie road.
Chapter 8 of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls by Rudyard Kipling holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 407 sentences of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3401 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63619 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63619, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 681 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls 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 Land and Sea Tales for Boys and Girls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
