Chapter 8 of Old Crow is here in full — 408 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 Old Crow is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention. He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm. "Lock the door," he called back to her. "Keep it locked till you go." The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
Chapter 8 of Old Crow is here in full — 408 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.”
thickened or coalesced in soft thick lumps (such as clogs or clots)
From this reading “The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.”
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading “He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.”
fasten with a lock
From this reading “"Lock the door," he called back to her.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “"Keep it locked till you go."”
an elevated geological formation
From this reading “The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.”
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.”
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 “"Lock the door," he called back to her.”
cause to be returned
In this reading “"Lock the door," he called back to her.”
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.
(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 The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Lock the door," he called back to her.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Lock the door," he called back to her.
thickened or coalesced in soft thick lumps (such as clogs or clots)
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "Lock the door," he called back to her.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Keep it locked till you go."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "Lock the door," he called back to her.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Keep it locked till you go."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading "Keep it locked till you go."
fasten with a lock
From this reading "Lock the door," he called back to her.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading "Keep it locked till you go."
not any; not one
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
marked by the reception of pay
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
only a very short time before
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
an elevated geological formation
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
express in speech
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
up to a particular time
From this reading "Keep it locked till you go."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had begun to speak, but he paid no attention.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He turned up his collar and stepped out into the storm.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The road down the slope was scarcely clogged at all.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Keep it locked till you go."
Chapter 8 of Old Crow by Alice Brown holds 408 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 408 sentences of Old Crow, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Old Crow by Alice Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 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 Old Crow by Alice Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11881 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31372 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31372, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2377 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Crow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Old Crow 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 Old Crow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
