Chapter 8 of School-Room Humour is here in full — 636 sentences across 128 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of School-Room Humour is here in full — 636 sentences across 128 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION. "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE. THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question. The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield. "Why, Polly," demanded the teacher.
Chapter 8 of School-Room Humour is here in full — 636 sentences across 128 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/127 · 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 state of being allied or confederated
From this reading “"_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.”
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading “A MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION.”
(Roman mythology) god of the sea; counterpart of Greek Poseidon
From this reading “The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.”
the more conspicuous of two alternatives or cases or sides
From this reading “The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.”
change to the contrary
From this reading “The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.”
a protective covering or structure
From this reading “The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.”
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading “The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.”
increase threefold
From this reading “"_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.”
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.
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 A MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION.
the state of being allied or confederated
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
several things grouped together or considered as a whole
From this reading A MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Why, Polly," demanded the teacher.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
past form of “examine” — consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
From this reading A MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTION.
(Roman mythology) god of the sea; counterpart of Greek Poseidon
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
the more conspicuous of two alternatives or cases or sides
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
change to the contrary
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a protective covering or structure
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
in a shy or timid or bashful manner
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
an inscription written above something else
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
a person whose occupation is teaching
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
increase threefold
From this reading "_The Triple Alliance is Faith, Hope, and Charity!_"--EMMA JANE.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading THE BEST SIDE.--A penny was the object in question.
at the time that
From this reading The children had examined its superscription--obverse and reverse, when little Polly shyly said, "I like this side best, teacher"--pointing to Neptune and the shield.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, Polly," demanded the teacher.
Chapter 8 of School-Room Humour by T. J. (Thomas James) Macnamara holds 636 sentences, grouped into 128 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 636 sentences of School-Room Humour, unabridged, divided into 128 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of School-Room Humour by T. J. (Thomas James) Macnamara exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 636 sentences, grouped into 128 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 128 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 128 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 School-Room Humour by T. J. (Thomas James) Macnamara on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1371 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40593 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40593, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 114 minutes of reading across 275 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through School-Room Humour section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of School-Room Humour 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 School-Room Humour, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
