Chapter 8 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She rolled on her side and stared at him. "No, don't be daft. How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?" She had no answer for him. "I need to go home," he said.
Chapter 8 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
react verbally
From this reading “She had no answer for him.”
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading “"No, don't be daft.”
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"”
a condition requiring relief
From this reading “"I need to go home," he said.”
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading “She rolled on her side and stared at him.”
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading “She rolled on her side and stared at him.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “She rolled on her side and stared at him.”
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading “How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"”
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 She rolled on her side and stared at him.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
react verbally
From this reading She had no answer for him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "No, don't be daft.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading "No, don't be daft.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No, don't be daft.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She had no answer for him.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had no answer for him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
a condition requiring relief
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
not any; not one
From this reading "No, don't be daft.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading She rolled on her side and stared at him.
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I need to go home," he said.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How could your thumb grow another *you?*" "Why wouldn't it?"
Chapter 8 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 414 sentences of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8538 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18224 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18224, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town 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 Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
