Chapter 8 of The Americans is here in full — 420 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 The Americans is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SAM WILLIAMS. We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE. There you are! SAM WILLIAMS. If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
Chapter 8 of The Americans is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.”
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading “We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “SAM WILLIAMS.”
United States country singer and songwriter (1923-1953)
From this reading “SAM WILLIAMS.”
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There you are!
the past participle of “be”
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
a form of address for a man
From this reading If it hadn't been for Mr. Egerton.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading SAM WILLIAMS.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There you are!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'd had to---- GENERAL CHADBOURNE.
United States country singer and songwriter (1923-1953)
From this reading SAM WILLIAMS.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading There you are!
Chapter 8 of The Americans by Edwin Davies Schoonmaker holds 420 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 420 sentences of The Americans, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Americans by Edwin Davies Schoonmaker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 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 The Americans by Edwin Davies Schoonmaker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3257 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41242 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41242, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 271 minutes of reading across 652 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Americans section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Americans 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 The Americans, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
