Chapter 8 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns. Some one has lied. Search and you will see." The marines turned the place inside out. When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
Chapter 8 of Short stories from Life is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by the walls of a house.
From this reading “When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.”
having the place or position changed
From this reading “When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.”
a small portable battery-powered electric lamp
From this reading “When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.”
indecision in speech or action
From this reading “When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.”
Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)
From this reading “When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.”
a German art song of the 19th century for voice and piano
From this reading “Some one has lied.”
an amphibious division of the United States Navy
From this reading “The marines turned the place inside out.”
past form of “plead” — appeal or request earnestly
From this reading “"_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.”
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 “When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.”
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 "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Search and you will see."
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by the walls of a house.
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
having the place or position changed
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
a small portable battery-powered electric lamp
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Some one has lied.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
indecision in speech or action
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading The marines turned the place inside out.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
Roman martyr; supposedly Lawrence was ordered by the police to give up the church's treasure and when he responded by presenting the poor people of Rome he was roasted to death on a gridiron (died in 258)
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
a German art song of the 19th century for voice and piano
From this reading Some one has lied.
an amphibious division of the United States Navy
From this reading The marines turned the place inside out.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
not any; not one
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Some one has lied.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The marines turned the place inside out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The marines turned the place inside out.
past form of “plead” — appeal or request earnestly
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading Search and you will see."
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Search and you will see."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some one has lied.
carry out
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The marines turned the place inside out.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The marines turned the place inside out.
at the time that
From this reading When Lawrence asked La Pava to take him into the courtyard she showed no hesitation, and his flashlight told him the ground had not been disturbed.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "_Señor_," she pleaded, "you will do me a great wrong if you shoot, for I have no guns.
Chapter 8 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 418 sentences of Short stories from Life, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Short stories from Life by Thomas L. [Author of introduction, etc.] Masson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Short stories from Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Short stories from Life 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 Short stories from Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
