Chapter 8 of The Black Abbot is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Black Abbot is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening. He heard a rusty squeak.… “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.” The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle. “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
Chapter 8 of The Black Abbot is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 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.
past form of “judge” — determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading “The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.”
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading ““It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.””
something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted
From this reading “The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.”
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading “They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.”
covered with or consisting of rust
From this reading “He heard a rusty squeak.…”
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading “He heard a rusty squeak.…”
to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading ““It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.””
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading “They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.”
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 ““It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.”
In this reading ““It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.””
In this reading “The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.”
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 He heard a rusty squeak.…
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
the act of departing
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He heard a rusty squeak.…
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
past form of “judge” — determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
an open or empty space in or between things
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
go across or through
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
To recall to mind.
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
covered with or consisting of rust
From this reading He heard a rusty squeak.…
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading He heard a rusty squeak.…
to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
a source of difficulty
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
precisely as stated
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading “It’s a big corner stone,” she said, in a low voice.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were going into the tower, although he did not remember having seen any opening.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The opening, he judged, was about a foot wide, and he had some trouble to pass the obstacle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It’s very narrow; you’ll have to squeeze through.”
Chapter 8 of The Black Abbot by Edgar Wallace holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 421 sentences of The Black Abbot, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Black Abbot by Edgar Wallace exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Black Abbot by Edgar Wallace on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Abbot section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Black Abbot 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 Black Abbot, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
