Chapter 8 of The Four Corners of the World is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Four Corners of the World is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Challoner was surprised. For she was just a tall slip of a girl. He put her age at nineteen or less. She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room. Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
Chapter 8 of The Four Corners of the World is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading “She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.”
intentionally conceived
From this reading “Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eighteen and one
From this reading “He put her age at nineteen or less.”
get by special effort
From this reading “She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.”
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading “She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.”
move stealthily
From this reading “For she was just a tall slip of a girl.”
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading “She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.”
a state lacking normal awareness of the self or environment
From this reading “Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.”
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.
be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful
In this reading “She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.”
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 For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
how long something has existed
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Challoner was surprised.
mentally acute or penetratingly discerning
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
intentionally conceived
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
a young female
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
and nothing more
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eighteen and one
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
not any; not one
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading He put her age at nineteen or less.
cut with a saw
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
get by special effort
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
move stealthily
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading Challoner was surprised.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading For she was just a tall slip of a girl.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
a state lacking normal awareness of the self or environment
From this reading Then, with too conscious an unconsciousness, she turned away, and Challoner saw no more of her that day.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Challoner was surprised.
which person or people
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She was clear-eyed and pretty, with the tremendous confidence of one who looks out at life from the secure shelter of a school-room.
Chapter 8 of The Four Corners of the World by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 408 sentences of The Four Corners of the World, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Four Corners of the World by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Four Corners of the World by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7322 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38664 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38664, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1465 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Four Corners of the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Four Corners of the World 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 Four Corners of the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
