Chapter 8 of Settling Day is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Settling Day is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait. The doors were pushed open and someone looked out. In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently. Then he went inside, leaving the windows open. 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
Chapter 8 of Settling Day is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading “In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.”
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading “The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.”
with strained or eager attention
From this reading “In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.”
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading “In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.”
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading “The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.”
United States clarinetist and leader of a swing band (1910-2004)
From this reading “In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.”
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading “AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.”
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.
be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful
In this reading “The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.”
In this reading “Then he went inside, leaving the windows open.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading Then he went inside, leaving the windows open.
with strained or eager attention
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
the act of departing
From this reading Then he went inside, leaving the windows open.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
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 AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
cut with a saw
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
United States clarinetist and leader of a swing band (1910-2004)
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
a person, without saying who
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
a facility equipped with special equipment and personnel for a particular purpose
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he went inside, leaving the windows open.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
a porch along the outside of a building (sometimes partly enclosed)
From this reading 'He must have heard me step on to the verandah,' thought Jim.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading AT CUDGEGONG STATION He had not long to wait.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the dim light he saw it was Rodney Shaw, and he seemed to be listening intently.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Then he went inside, leaving the windows open.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The doors were pushed open and someone looked out.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading Then he went inside, leaving the windows open.
Chapter 8 of Settling Day by Nat Gould holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 179 sentences of Settling Day, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Settling Day by Nat Gould exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Settling Day by Nat Gould on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4319 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35496 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35496, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 359 minutes of reading across 864 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Settling Day section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Settling Day 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 Settling Day, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
