Chapter 8 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TOAST FOR TEA. "Did you hear the children say. Life is rather out of tune?" "Mine's very stupid," said Racey. "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
Chapter 8 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children is here in full — 255 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/51 · 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.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading “"Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.”
possessive form of “mine” — excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted
From this reading “"Mine's very stupid," said Racey.”
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading “"Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.”
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading “"Mine's very stupid," said Racey.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “TOAST FOR TEA.”
make brown and crisp by heating
From this reading “TOAST FOR TEA.”
male cat
From this reading “"Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.”
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading “Life is rather out of tune?"”
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.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading "Did you hear the children say.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Did you hear the children say.
in an encouraging manner
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading TOAST FOR TEA.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Did you hear the children say.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Life is rather out of tune?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Life is rather out of tune?"
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
possessive form of “mine” — excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted
From this reading "Mine's very stupid," said Racey.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Life is rather out of tune?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Life is rather out of tune?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mine's very stupid," said Racey.
on the contrary
From this reading Life is rather out of tune?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Mine's very stupid," said Racey.
express in words
From this reading "Did you hear the children say.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading "Mine's very stupid," said Racey.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading TOAST FOR TEA.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Did you hear the children say.
make brown and crisp by heating
From this reading TOAST FOR TEA.
male cat
From this reading "Never mind, I dare say it'll be very nice," said Tom and I encouragingly.
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading Life is rather out of tune?"
precisely as stated
From this reading "Mine's very stupid," said Racey.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Did you hear the children say.
Chapter 8 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children by Mrs. Molesworth holds 255 sentences, grouped into 51 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 255 sentences of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 255 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2907 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30845 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30845, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 242 minutes of reading across 582 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children 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 Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
