Chapter 8 of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing. “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter. “It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.” “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response. “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
Chapter 8 of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
possessive form of “billy” — a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading ““Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.”
(sports) a division during which one team is on the offensive
From this reading ““It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.””
form a curl, curve, or kink
From this reading ““What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.”
a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia
From this reading “CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.”
plural of “mo” — an indefinitely short time
From this reading ““It done worry me 'mos' to death.”
expressing sorrow
From this reading ““Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.”
a result
From this reading ““Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.”
move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading “CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.”
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 “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
possessive form of “billy” — a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
(sports) a division during which one team is on the offensive
From this reading “It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.”
marked by continuous change or effective action
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
form a curl, curve, or kink
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.”
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
a native or inhabitant of Ethiopia
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
and nothing more
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
plural of “mo” — an indefinitely short time
From this reading “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
expressing sorrow
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
a result
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “It's 'bout the curliest hair they is.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading CHANGING THE ETHIOPIAN Billy and Jimmy were sitting in the swing.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading “It done worry me 'mos' to death.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, it do,” was Billy's mournful response.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What makes your hair curl just like a girl's?” asked the latter.
Chapter 8 of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill by Frances Boyd Calhoun holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 77 sentences of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill by Frances Boyd Calhoun exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Miss Minerva and William Green Hill by Frances Boyd Calhoun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1951 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5187 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5187, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 162 minutes of reading across 391 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Miss Minerva and William Green Hill section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Miss Minerva and William Green Hill 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 Miss Minerva and William Green Hill, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
