Chapter 8 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.” “What? Your son? But you are right, padrone. If he had been like me he would have been a man.”
Chapter 8 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is here in full — 246 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/49 · 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.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading ““My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.””
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading ““My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.””
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “If he had been like me he would have been a man.””
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading ““My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.””
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading ““My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.””
precisely, exactly
From this reading “But you are right, padrone.”
a male human offspring
From this reading ““My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.””
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading ““My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.””
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 “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But you are right, padrone.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But you are right, padrone.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
and nothing more
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading If he had been like me he would have been a man.”
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If he had been like me he would have been a man.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
an owner or proprietor of an inn in Italy
From this reading But you are right, padrone.
precisely, exactly
From this reading But you are right, padrone.
a male human offspring
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “My son would have been just such a fine young man as you, Gian’ Battista, if he had lived.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your son?
Chapter 8 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad holds 246 sentences, grouped into 50 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 246 sentences of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 246 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 50 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 Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9719 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2021 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2021, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1944 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard 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 Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
