Chapter 8 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Not at all. I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing." "Of course not." "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time. Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
Chapter 8 of Shallow Soil is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.”
a structural member used to stiffen a framework
From this reading “I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."”
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading “"I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.”
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “"I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.”
ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
From this reading “"I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.”
tending to impart new life and vigor to
From this reading “Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.”
natural abilities or qualities
From this reading “I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."”
serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
From this reading “"I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.”
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 have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
quickly and without warning
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "Not at all.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Not at all.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
a structural member used to stiffen a framework
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading "Of course not."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
relatively long in duration; tediously protracted
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
a condition requiring relief
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not at all.
being perceived or observed
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
accept an excuse for
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
tending to impart new life and vigor to
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
natural abilities or qualities
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I have never noticed that my talent stood in need of bracing."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
during the time that
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Well, you will pardon me for renewing our acquaintance so abruptly; but I must get home and get a little sleep now.
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I have written a lengthy prose poem while I was away, so you see I have not altogether wasted my time.
Chapter 8 of Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 400 sentences of Shallow Soil, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Shallow Soil by Knut Hamsun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7537 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7537, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1132 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shallow Soil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Shallow Soil 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 Shallow Soil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
