Chapter 8 of The Carter Girls is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Carter Girls is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GWEN. Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be. "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope. "Good old Bill! I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
Chapter 8 of The Carter Girls is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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 flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading “"Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.”
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading “Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.”
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading “Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.”
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading “"Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “"Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.”
the state of being asleep
From this reading “"Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “"Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.”
fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading “I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.”
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 “"Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.”
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 "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
react verbally
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
a flat (usually rectangular) container for a letter, thin package, etc.
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good old Bill!
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GWEN.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
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 I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Good old Bill!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
have the will and intention to carry out some action
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
the 17th letter of the Roman alphabet
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
the state of being asleep
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
fall down, as if collapsing
From this reading I almost knew he would tumble at the chance.
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Sleeping on my arms," was his telegram in answer to the letter he got from Lewis, a letter with R. S. V. P. P. D. Q. plainly marked on the envelope.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Bill Tinsley was as keen on the camp building plan as Lewis Somerville had said he would be.
Chapter 8 of The Carter Girls by Nell Speed holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 217 sentences of The Carter Girls, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Carter Girls by Nell Speed exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Carter Girls by Nell Speed on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3402 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40177 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40177, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 283 minutes of reading across 681 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Carter Girls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Carter Girls 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 Carter Girls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
