Chapter 8 of The Gap in the Fence is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Gap in the Fence is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GIPSIES ON THE COMMON. Tom stared at Una in surprise. "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly. "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret." Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
Chapter 8 of The Gap in the Fence is here in full — 63 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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 relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading “Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.”
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading “"I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."”
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading “"Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.”
in a gruff manner
From this reading “"Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.”
plural of “parcel” — a wrapped container
From this reading “Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.”
select carefully from a group
From this reading “Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Tom stared at Una in surprise.”
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading “"I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."”
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 "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tom stared at Una in surprise.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public
From this reading THE GIPSIES ON THE COMMON.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE GIPSIES ON THE COMMON.
a young female
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
in a gruff manner
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Tom stared at Una in surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
many times at short intervals
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE GIPSIES ON THE COMMON.
plural of “parcel” — a wrapped container
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
select carefully from a group
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
on the contrary
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Tom stared at Una in surprise.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Tom stared at Una in surprise.
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GIPSIES ON THE COMMON.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
male cat
From this reading Tom stared at Una in surprise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tom stared at Una in surprise.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Una bent down and began to pick up some of the fallen parcels.
(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, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, you are a funny girl," he said, rather gruffly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I thought you'd be pleased; it's not often you catch me telling a _girl_ a secret."
Chapter 8 of The Gap in the Fence by Frederica J. Turle holds 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 63 sentences of The Gap in the Fence, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Gap in the Fence by Frederica J. Turle exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 63 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 Gap in the Fence by Frederica J. Turle on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 815 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21547 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21547, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 67 minutes of reading across 163 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Gap in the Fence section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Gap in the Fence 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 Gap in the Fence, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
