Chapter 8 of Mary Louise Stands the Test is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Mary Louise Stands the Test is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence. They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons. Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands. Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself: “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
Chapter 8 of Mary Louise Stands the Test is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 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.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading “Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.”
the act of eating dinner
From this reading “THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.”
inflected form of “emit” — expel (gases or odors)
From this reading “Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:”
in a softened tone
From this reading “THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:”
sporadically and infrequently
From this reading “Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:”
a request to be present
From this reading “They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.”
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.
a room used for dining
In this reading “THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.”
In this reading “Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to 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 Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
the act of eating dinner
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
inflected form of “emit” — expel (gases or odors)
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
divisible by two
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
in a softened tone
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
sporadically and infrequently
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
above and across; more than
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “I never should have said it, even to Hannah--even to Hannah!”
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
a request to be present
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They had come immediately at Mary Louise’s summons.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Occasionally, he emitted a deep groan and muttered to himself:
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mr. Conant was bowed over, his gray head in his hands.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading THE PASSING OF THE COLONEL Irene and her uncle were seated in the dining room in hushed silence.
Chapter 8 of Mary Louise Stands the Test by Emma Speed Sampson holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 155 sentences of Mary Louise Stands the Test, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Mary Louise Stands the Test by Emma Speed Sampson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 Mary Louise Stands the Test by Emma Speed Sampson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2457 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59601 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59601, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 204 minutes of reading across 492 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mary Louise Stands the Test section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Mary Louise Stands the Test 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 Mary Louise Stands the Test, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
