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Stepping Westward
Stepping Westward

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of Stepping Westward is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Stepping Westward
Context Illustration Reading 1/85 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.
Yo’ was some mad wi’ me, wasn’t yo?”
“Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.
I were nobbut sorry.”
All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Stepping Westward

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of Stepping Westward is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.
Line 2
Yo’ was some mad wi’ me, wasn’t yo?”
Line 3
“Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.
Line 4
I were nobbut sorry.”
Line 5
All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.
/ɔːl ðæt wiːk ʃiː riˈdʌbəld hɜːr əˈtenʃənz tuː luːk ənd wen ˈsætərdi naɪt keɪm hiː wɑːz əˈstɑːnɪʃt ənd əˈbæʃt wen ʃiː pʊt ə ˈlɪtəl ˈpɑːrsəl ˈɪntuː hɪz hændz/

Learner Dictionary

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.

abashed adjective US /əˈbæʃt/

feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed

From this reading “All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.”

attentions noun US /əˈtenʃənz/

plural of “attention” — the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others

From this reading “All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.”

Luke noun US /luːk/

(New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel

From this reading “All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.”

makin noun US /ˈmækɪn/

battles in World War II in the Pacific (November 1943); United States Marines took the islands from the Japanese after bitter fighting

From this reading ““I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.”

mildly adverb US /ˈmaɪldli/

to a moderate degree

From this reading ““Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.”

parcel noun US /ˈpɑːrsəl/

a wrapped container

From this reading “All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.”

punish verb US /ˈpʌnɪʃ/

impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on

From this reading ““I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.”

redoubled adjective US /riˈdʌbəld/

become much greater in intensity or size or amount

From this reading “All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

little parcel adjective + noun

In this reading “All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.”

all day adjective + noun

In this reading ““I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.”

All words in this reading · 49

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

abashedadjectiveUS /əˈbæʃt/

feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

astonishedadjectiveUS /əˈstɑːnɪʃt/

filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

attentionsnounUS /əˈtenʃənz/

plural of “attention” — the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

clem

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

daynounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

goin

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

handsnounUS /hændz/

(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

haplyadverb

by accident

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

Jinny

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

LukenounUS /luːk/

(New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

madadjectiveUS /mæd/

roused to anger

From this reading Yo’ was some mad wi’ me, wasn’t yo?”

makinnounUS /ˈmækɪn/

battles in World War II in the Pacific (November 1943); United States Marines took the islands from the Japanese after bitter fighting

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

mildlyadverbUS /ˈmaɪldli/

to a moderate degree

From this reading “Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.

NayexclamationUS /neɪ/

an old word for “no”

From this reading “Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

nobbut

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I were nobbut sorry.”

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.

parcelnounUS /ˈpɑːrsəl/

a wrapped container

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

punishverbUS /ˈpʌnɪʃ/

impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

putverbUS /pʊt/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

redoubledadjectiveUS /riˈdʌbəld/

become much greater in intensity or size or amount

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

repliedverbUS /rɪˈplaɪd/

inflected form of “reply” — react verbally

From this reading “Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.

SaturdaynounUS /ˈsætərdi/

the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading Yo’ was some mad wi’ me, wasn’t yo?”

sorryadjectiveUS /ˈsɑːri/

feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone

From this reading I were nobbut sorry.”

stilladjectiveUS /stɪl/

not in physical motion

From this reading “Nay, nay,” replied Jinny, still mildly, “not mad.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

wasn't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Yo’ was some mad wi’ me, wasn’t yo?”

weeknounUS /wiːk/

any period of seven consecutive days

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading I were nobbut sorry.”

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading All that week she redoubled her attentions to Luke, and when Saturday night came he was astonished and abashed when she put a little parcel into his hands.

winoun

a midwestern state in north central United States

From this reading Yo’ was some mad wi’ me, wasn’t yo?”

yo

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “I thought haply yo’ was goin’ to punish me by makin’ me clem all day.

Chapter 8 of Stepping Westward by M. E. Francis holds 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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.

What does chapter 8 of Stepping Westward contain?

Chapter 8 holds 426 sentences of Stepping Westward, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of Stepping Westward by M. E. Francis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 sentences, grouped into 86 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.

How do I study chapter 8 of Stepping Westward?

Work through the 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 86 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.

Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Stepping Westward

Common questions about reading Stepping Westward by M. E. Francis on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Stepping Westward?

Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Stepping Westward is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Stepping Westward take to read?

About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Stepping Westward section by section

How to work through Stepping Westward section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 0 chapters of Stepping Westward to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Stepping Westward

Words and structures a reader meets early in Stepping Westward, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Chapter 1
One of the 0 chapters of Stepping Westward, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.
Chapter 2
One of the 0 chapters of Stepping Westward, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.
Chapter 3
One of the 0 chapters of Stepping Westward, divided into 5-sentence reading sections.