Chapter 8 of The Black Box is here in full — 443 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 The Black Box is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE INHERITED SIN 1. "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?" Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square. Lenora shrugged her shoulders. She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
Chapter 8 of The Black Box is here in full — 443 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.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.”
a government building that houses the offices of a county government
From this reading “"Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"”
a state in southeastern United States; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War
From this reading “Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.”
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
From this reading “THE INHERITED SIN 1.”
a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
From this reading “Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.”
past form of “sentence” — pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law
From this reading “She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.”
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading “"Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"”
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading “Lenora shrugged her shoulders.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE INHERITED SIN 1.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
in the past
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
a government building that houses the offices of a county government
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
a state in southeastern United States; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
a young female
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Lenora shrugged her shoulders.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
From this reading THE INHERITED SIN 1.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
a human being
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
past form of “sentence” — pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading Lenora shrugged her shoulders.
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading Lenora shrugged her shoulders.
estrangement from god
From this reading THE INHERITED SIN 1.
make square
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE INHERITED SIN 1.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Quest remarked, as they stepped from the automobile and entered the house in Georgia Square.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
a shaky motion
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
precisely as stated
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
which person or people
From this reading She was certainly a very different-looking person from the tired, trembling girl who had heard Macdougal sentenced not many weeks ago.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Getting kind of used to these courthouse shows, aren't you, Lenora?"
Chapter 8 of The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 443 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 443 sentences of The Black Box, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 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 The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8944 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17197 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17197, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1789 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Black Box section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Black Box 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 Box, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
