Chapter 8 of No Thoroughfare is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of No Thoroughfare is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Marguerite resumed her seat. She tried to resume her needle. It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing. "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together. I have a confession to make.
Chapter 8 of No Thoroughfare is here in full — 194 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading “I have a confession to make.”
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.”
tall leafy-stemmed Eurasian perennial with white flowers; widely naturalized; often placed in genus Chrysanthemum
From this reading “Marguerite resumed her seat.”
the leaf of a conifer
From this reading “She tried to resume her needle.”
take up or begin anew
From this reading “She tried to resume her needle.”
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading “Marguerite resumed her seat.”
familiar with many parts of the world
From this reading “"We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.”
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading “It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.”
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 have a confession to make.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
an admission of misdeeds or faults
From this reading I have a confession to make.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
opinion or judgment
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Marguerite resumed her seat.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have a confession to make.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
engage in
From this reading I have a confession to make.
tall leafy-stemmed Eurasian perennial with white flowers; widely naturalized; often placed in genus Chrysanthemum
From this reading Marguerite resumed her seat.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
the leaf of a conifer
From this reading She tried to resume her needle.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
take up or begin anew
From this reading She tried to resume her needle.
past form of “resume” — take up or begin anew
From this reading Marguerite resumed her seat.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading Marguerite resumed her seat.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She tried to resume her needle.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She tried to resume her needle.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
familiar with many parts of the world
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading She tried to resume her needle.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was useless; her eyes failed her; her hand failed her; she could find nothing.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
at the time that
From this reading "We have been talking," said Vendale, "of the happy time when we first met, and first travelled together.
Chapter 8 of No Thoroughfare by Charles Dickens holds 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 194 sentences of No Thoroughfare, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of No Thoroughfare by Charles Dickens exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 194 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 No Thoroughfare by Charles Dickens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3104 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1423 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1423, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 258 minutes of reading across 621 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through No Thoroughfare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of No Thoroughfare 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 No Thoroughfare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
