Chapter 8 of Queen Lucia is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Queen Lucia is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's too miserable for you," he said. "How will you get on without Elizabeth? How long has she been with you?" Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off. "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
Chapter 8 of Queen Lucia is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
in a cheerful manner
From this reading “"So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.”
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading “"How will you get on without Elizabeth?”
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “"It's too miserable for you," he said.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “"So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.”
successive (without a break)
From this reading “Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.”
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading “"So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.”
United States photographer(1886-1958)
From this reading “Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.”
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 "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading How long has she been with you?"
in a cheerful manner
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading "How will you get on without Elizabeth?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "How will you get on without Elizabeth?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading How long has she been with you?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How will you get on without Elizabeth?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
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 How long has she been with you?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "How will you get on without Elizabeth?
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How long has she been with you?"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
successive (without a break)
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
express in words
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
United States photographer(1886-1958)
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "So I said, 'What have you come to tell me?' quite cheerfully, thinking it was a tea-cup.
in or at the place that
From this reading Mrs Weston went straight back to where she had left off.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "How will you get on without Elizabeth?
in the company of; together with
From this reading How long has she been with you?"
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "How will you get on without Elizabeth?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It's too miserable for you," he said.
Chapter 8 of Queen Lucia by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 427 sentences of Queen Lucia, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Queen Lucia by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Queen Lucia by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4640 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6840 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6840, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 386 minutes of reading across 928 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Queen Lucia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Queen Lucia 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 Queen Lucia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
