Chapter 8 of The Crime and the Criminal is here in full — 823 sentences across 165 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Crime and the Criminal is here in full — 823 sentences across 165 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DRAWING THE LOT. When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings. He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke. "Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please." He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
Chapter 8 of The Crime and the Criminal is here in full — 823 sentences across 165 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/164 · 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 “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.”
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading “DRAWING THE LOT.”
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading “"Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.”
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading “He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.”
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading “When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.”
plural of “preliminary” — a minor match preceding the main event
From this reading “"Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."”
(law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
From this reading “When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.”
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 “He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.”
at or in the front
In this reading “He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.”
In this reading “He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.”
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 He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
past form of “commence” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
an illustration that is drawn by hand and published in a book, magazine, or newspaper
From this reading DRAWING THE LOT.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading "Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading DRAWING THE LOT.
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading He had the crimson-covered book open in front of him.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."
plural of “preliminary” — a minor match preceding the main event
From this reading "Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."
(law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DRAWING THE LOT.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading "Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
at the time that
From this reading When we had taken our places, Pendarvon commenced proceedings.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading He looked round at us and laughed, as if the whole proceedings had been some mighty joke.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Gentlemen, the usual preliminaries, if you please."
Chapter 8 of The Crime and the Criminal by Richard Marsh holds 823 sentences, grouped into 165 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 823 sentences of The Crime and the Criminal, unabridged, divided into 165 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Crime and the Criminal by Richard Marsh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 823 sentences, grouped into 165 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 165 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 165 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.
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Yes. All 9530 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40348 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40348, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1906 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crime and the Criminal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Crime and the Criminal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
