Chapter VIII of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key, “The Ivory Collection,” is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter VIII of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key, “The Ivory Collection,” is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall. She could hear the music distinctly. It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead. By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend. They huddled together, listening.
Chapter VIII of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key, “The Ivory Collection,” is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.”
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading “She could hear the music distinctly.”
crowded or massed together
From this reading “They huddled together, listening.”
-ing form of “overcome” — win a victory over
From this reading “By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.”
above your head; in the sky
From this reading “It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.”
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.”
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading “Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.”
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 “Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.”
In this reading “She could hear the music distinctly.”
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.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
next to; at the side of
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading She could hear the music distinctly.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
without deviation
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading She could hear the music distinctly.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading She could hear the music distinctly.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
crowded or massed together
From this reading They huddled together, listening.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading They huddled together, listening.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading She could hear the music distinctly.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
-ing form of “overcome” — win a victory over
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
above your head; in the sky
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
-ing form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
with low volume
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She could hear the music distinctly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Penny quietly opened the bedroom door, peering out into the long dark hall.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They huddled together, listening.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By this time, Rosanna, overcoming her fear, crept beside her friend.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It seemed to be coming from almost directly overhead.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading They huddled together, listening.
Chapter 8 of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key by Joan Clark holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 196 sentences of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key by Joan Clark exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key by Joan Clark on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3515 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34369 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34369, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 292 minutes of reading across 703 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key 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 Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
