Chapter 8 of Once Upon A Time is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Once Upon A Time is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable. I knew there was no escape. I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience. The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news. In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.
Chapter 8 of Once Upon A Time is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation
From this reading “I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.”
plural of “headline” — the heading or caption of a newspaper article
From this reading “In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.”
causing awareness of your shortcomings
From this reading “I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.”
not capable of being carried out or put into practice
From this reading “The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.”
Old World vine with lobed evergreen leaves and black berrylike fruits
From this reading “The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.”
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading “The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.”
past form of “sentence” — pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law
From this reading “I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.”
the first light of day
From this reading “I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.”
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 knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
in addition
From this reading In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
any thing at all
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
feeling or showing worry or solicitude
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading I knew there was no escape.
undergo or live through a difficult experience
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
plural of “headline” — the heading or caption of a newspaper article
From this reading In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.
causing awareness of your shortcomings
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I knew there was no escape.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
not capable of being carried out or put into practice
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
Old World vine with lobed evergreen leaves and black berrylike fruits
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I knew there was no escape.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
used to form the superlative
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
information about recent and important events
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
plural of “newspaper” — a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
not any; not one
From this reading I knew there was no escape.
(usually preceded by “in”) a detail or point
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
Identical; not different.
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
cut with a saw
From this reading In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.
past form of “sentence” — pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
the first light of day
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
in or at that place or location
From this reading I knew there was no escape.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading In my turn I also saw the hideous headlines.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The same thought was in my mind, but the idea was absurd, and impracticable.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I knew we were sentenced at sunrise to a most humiliating and disgraceful experience.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The newspapers would regard anything that concerned Lord Ivy as news.
Chapter 8 of Once Upon A Time by Richard Harding Davis holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 416 sentences of Once Upon A Time, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Once Upon A Time by Richard Harding Davis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Once Upon A Time by Richard Harding Davis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3852 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16908 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16908, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 771 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Once Upon A Time section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Once Upon A Time 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 Once Upon A Time, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
