Chapter 8 of The Argus Pheasant is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Argus Pheasant is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke. Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck. Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance. Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed. He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
Chapter 8 of The Argus Pheasant is here in full — 192 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
From this reading “Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.”
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading “Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.”
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading “Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.”
in a rigid manner
From this reading “Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.”
expressing extreme contempt
From this reading “Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.”
having a well-proportioned and pleasing shape
From this reading “Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.”
past form of “succumb” — consent reluctantly
From this reading “Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.”
a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
From this reading “He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.”
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 “Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.”
In this reading “Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.”
temporarily
In this reading “KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.”
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 KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.
the protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude
From this reading Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.
divisible by two
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
without good reason
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
a particular point in time
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
not any; not one
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
feeling self-respect or pleasure in something by which you measure your self-worth; or being a reason for pride
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
(especially of the face) reddened or suffused with or as if with blood from emotion or exertion
From this reading He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
in a rigid manner
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
expressing extreme contempt
From this reading Her black eyes blazed a scornful defiance.
in a shamefaced manner
From this reading He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
having a well-proportioned and pleasing shape
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
past form of “succumb” — consent reluctantly
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
a browning of the skin resulting from exposure to the rays of the sun
From this reading He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Before her contempt even the proud Amsterdammer's arrogance succumbed.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading He reddened shamefacedly under his tan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
a message informing of danger
From this reading KOYALA'S WARNING For a moment no one spoke.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Koyala, poised lightly on her feet, her slender, shapely young figure held rigidly and her chin uptilted, gazed steadily at Van Slyck.
Chapter 8 of The Argus Pheasant by John Charles Beecham holds 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 192 sentences of The Argus Pheasant, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Argus Pheasant by John Charles Beecham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 192 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Argus Pheasant by John Charles Beecham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #37215 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #37215, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1132 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Argus Pheasant section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Argus Pheasant 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 Argus Pheasant, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
