Chapter 8 of Tales out of school is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Tales out of school is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop. Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank! There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off. Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did. “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
Chapter 8 of Tales out of school is here in full — 438 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading ““It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.”
plural of “cushion” — a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading ““It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.”
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.”
by good fortune
From this reading “Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did.”
operate an airplane
From this reading “Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!”
past form of “steer” — direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
From this reading “Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!”
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading “There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.”
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading ““It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.”
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 ““After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.”
In this reading “There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.”
In this reading ““It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.”
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 “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
later than; following
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
anything that covers or conceals
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did.
plural of “cushion” — a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
by good fortune
From this reading Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
set down according to a plan
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
the act of departing
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
operate an airplane
From this reading Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!
gradual improvement or growth or development
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Fortunately we could go to sleep, and we did.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
past form of “steer” — direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
From this reading Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Our pilot had steered us upon a sand-bank!
precisely as stated
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading There was nothing for it but to wait for the tide to float us off.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “After leaving here, our progress was very slow; and, before night, we came to a dead stop.
covered with or as if with clothes or a wrap or cloak
From this reading “It was a warm night, and I wrapped myself in my cloak, and laid down on some cushions on the deck.
Chapter 8 of Tales out of school by Frank R. Stockton holds 438 sentences, grouped into 88 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 438 sentences of Tales out of school, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Tales out of school by Frank R. Stockton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 438 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Tales out of school by Frank R. Stockton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3536 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #71711 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #71711, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 294 minutes of reading across 708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales out of school section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Tales out of school 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 Tales out of school, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
