Chapter 8 of The Choice of Life is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Choice of Life is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past. The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing. "Rose, I do nothing but think of you. Who are you? What will become of you?
Chapter 8 of The Choice of Life is here in full — 70 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.”
plural of “branch” — a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading “We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.”
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.”
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading “The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.”
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.”
weakening in force or intensity
From this reading “The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.”
shoot down, of birds
From this reading “We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.”
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.”
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 We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Who are you?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading What will become of you?
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
plural of “branch” — a division of some larger or more complex organization
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
weakening in force or intensity
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
plural of “leaf” — the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The light was fading slowly, the leaves became dim, the birds stopped singing.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were lying in the long grass, looking up at the sky through the branches of the apple-trees and watching the clouds drift past.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What will become of you?
which person or people
From this reading Who are you?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading What will become of you?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Rose, I do nothing but think of you.
Chapter 8 of The Choice of Life by Georgette Leblanc holds 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 70 sentences of The Choice of Life, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Choice of Life by Georgette Leblanc exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 70 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 Choice of Life by Georgette Leblanc on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2783 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22411 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22411, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 231 minutes of reading across 557 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Choice of Life section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Choice of Life 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 Choice of Life, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
