Chapter 8 of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“For heavenses’ sakes!” he said. “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_. Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street! Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?” “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
Chapter 8 of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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 possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?””
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading ““If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.”
for more time
From this reading ““If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?””
plural of “sake” — a reason for wanting something done
From this reading ““For heavenses’ sakes!” he said.”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading ““Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?””
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading “Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading ““Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?””
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.
maintain a required pace or level
In this reading ““If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.”
travel across or pass over
In this reading “Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?””
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 Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “For heavenses’ sakes!” he said.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “For heavenses’ sakes!” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “For heavenses’ sakes!” he said.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
where you live at a particular time
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
for more time
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
above and across; more than
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “For heavenses’ sakes!” he said.
plural of “sake” — a reason for wanting something done
From this reading “For heavenses’ sakes!” he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “If this keeps up much longer, _I_’m goin’ _home_.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Everybody’s a-lookin’ at us all up an’ down the street!
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Whyn’t you quit singin’ an’ give him a chance to get over whatever’s the matter with him?”
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading “Well, why don’t you do somep’m to help stop her from cryin’, yourself?”
Chapter 8 of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories by Booth Tarkington holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories by Booth Tarkington exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories by Booth Tarkington on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6465 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60529 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60529, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 538 minutes of reading across 1293 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories 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 Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
