Chapter 8 of Stories from Dickens is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Stories from Dickens is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?" "Prime," said the turnkey. "Was father ever there?" "Hem!" coughed the turnkey. "Oh, yes, he was there, sometimes."
Chapter 8 of Stories from Dickens is here in full — 444 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “"Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"”
past form of “cough” — exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading “"Hem!" coughed the turnkey.”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “"Was father ever there?"”
the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
From this reading “"Hem!" coughed the turnkey.”
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading “"Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"”
first in rank or degree
From this reading “"Prime," said the turnkey.”
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading “"Oh, yes, he was there, sometimes."”
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading “"Prime," said the turnkey.”
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.
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 with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
past form of “cough” — exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading "Hem!" coughed the turnkey.
at any time
From this reading "Was father ever there?"
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Was father ever there?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh, yes, he was there, sometimes."
the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
From this reading "Hem!" coughed the turnkey.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, yes, he was there, sometimes."
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
first in rank or degree
From this reading "Prime," said the turnkey.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Prime," said the turnkey.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading "Oh, yes, he was there, sometimes."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Prime," said the turnkey.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading "Prime," said the turnkey.
precisely as stated
From this reading "Is it very pleasant to be there, Bob?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Was father ever there?"
an affirmative
From this reading "Oh, yes, he was there, sometimes."
Chapter 8 of Stories from Dickens by J. Walker (Joseph Walker) McSpadden holds 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 444 sentences of Stories from Dickens, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Stories from Dickens by J. Walker (Joseph Walker) McSpadden exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 444 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Stories from Dickens by J. Walker (Joseph Walker) McSpadden on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4205 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49125 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49125, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 350 minutes of reading across 841 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stories from Dickens section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Stories from Dickens 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 Stories from Dickens, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
