Chapter 8 of The Boy with Wings is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 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 with Wings is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_! There! I might have _known_ he was engaged. I might have guessed it! It's nothing to do with me....
Chapter 8 of The Boy with Wings is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!”
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading “I might have _known_ he was engaged.”
a woman who is engaged to be married
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “I might have guessed it!”
apprehended with certainty
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading “LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!”
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “It's nothing to do with me....”
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading “LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!”
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.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
earlier than; in front of
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading It's nothing to do with me....
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading I might have _known_ he was engaged.
a woman who is engaged to be married
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading I might have guessed it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I might have _known_ he was engaged.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I might have _known_ he was engaged.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I might have guessed it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It's nothing to do with me....
apprehended with certainty
From this reading I might have _known_ he was engaged.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It's nothing to do with me....
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading I might have _known_ he was engaged.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It's nothing to do with me....
the likelihood of a thing occurring rather than not occurring
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
in or at that place or location
From this reading There!
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading LAUGHING ODDS Before he answered, Gwenna had time to think smartingly, "His _fiancee_!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I might have _known_ he was engaged.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It's nothing to do with me....
Chapter 8 of The Boy with Wings by Berta Ruck holds 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 110 sentences of The Boy with Wings, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Boy with Wings by Berta Ruck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 with Wings by Berta Ruck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6451 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36223 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36223, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 537 minutes of reading across 1291 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy with Wings section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Boy with Wings 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 with Wings, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
