Chapter 8 of The Boy Grew Older is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Boy Grew Older is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters. By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them. "I am drunk," he said to himself. "I am so drunk that nothing matters." But he knew that it was not so.
Chapter 8 of The Boy Grew Older is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading “By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.”
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading “By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.”
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “"I am drunk," he said to himself.”
enclose with a fence
From this reading “By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.”
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading “By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.”
plural of “waiter” — a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading “It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.”
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 “By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.”
obtain, especially accidentally
In this reading “It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.”
In this reading “It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I am drunk," he said to himself.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading "I am drunk," he said to himself.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
enclose with a fence
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "I am drunk," he said to himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I am drunk," he said to himself.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But he knew that it was not so.
plural of “matter” — a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "I am so drunk that nothing matters."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "I am so drunk that nothing matters."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
above and across; more than
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I am drunk," he said to himself.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "I am so drunk that nothing matters."
not in physical motion
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I am so drunk that nothing matters."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I am drunk," he said to himself.
plural of “waiter” — a person whose occupation is to serve at table (as in a restaurant)
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
at the time that
From this reading It was after ten when Peter came into Billy Gallivan's, the restaurant of the singing waiters.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading By now he could not see distinctly every sheep which jumped over the fence but he was still counting them.
Chapter 8 of The Boy Grew Older by Heywood Broun holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 205 sentences of The Boy Grew Older, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Boy Grew Older by Heywood Broun exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Boy Grew Older by Heywood Broun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4848 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36057 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36057, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 404 minutes of reading across 970 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Grew Older section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Boy Grew Older 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 Boy Grew Older, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
