The Girl Next Door

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Augusta Huiell Seaman • Curated US English Learning Edition

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English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

So bewildering had been Cecily's revelations about herself and Miss Benedict and the conditions in the mysterious house, that they found inexhaustible food for discussion and conjecture.

The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

"Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

"Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter VIII Reading 1/24

The Girl Next Door Augusta Huiell Seaman

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep. So bewildering had been Cecily's revelations about herself and Miss Benedict and the conditions in the mysterious house, that they found inexhaustible food for discussion and conjecture. The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all. "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time. "Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

The Girl Next Door

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/24 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

/æt ðə end ʌv ðə strɪŋ ɪt wɑːz pæst ˈmɪdnaɪt ðæt naɪt bɪˈfɔːr ðə tuː ɡɜːrlz kʊd ˈsetəl ðemˈselvz fɔːr ə wɪŋk ʌv sliːp/

Line 2

So bewildering had been Cecily's revelations about herself and Miss Benedict and the conditions in the mysterious house, that they found inexhaustible food for discussion and conjecture.

Line 3

The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

Line 4

"Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

Line 5

"Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

Learner Dictionary

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.

absorbing adjective US /əbˈzɔːrbɪŋ/

capable of arousing and holding the attention

From this reading “The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.”

Benedict noun US /ˈbenədɪkt/

United States anthropologist (1887-1948)

From this reading “So bewildering had been Cecily's revelations about herself and Miss Benedict and the conditions in the mysterious house, that they found inexhaustible food for discussion and conjecture.”

bewildering verb US /bɪˈwɪldərɪŋ/

-ing form of “bewilder” — be a mystery or bewildering to

conjecture noun US /kənˈdʒektʃər/

a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)

inexhaustible adjective US /ˌɪnɪɡˈzɔːstəbəl/

that cannot be entirely consumed or used up

revelations noun US /ˌrevəˈleɪʃənz/

plural of “revelation” — the speech act of making something evident

twentieth noun US /ˈtwentiəθ/

position 20 in a countable series of things

From this reading “"Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.”

wink verb US /wɪŋk/

signal by winking

From this reading “AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

past midnight noun + noun

In this reading “AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.”

most interesting adverb + adjective

In this reading “The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.”

twentieth time noun + noun

In this reading “"Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.”

AT THE END preposition + article + noun counted as “at … end”

In this reading “AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.”

of course preposition + noun

as might be expected

In this reading “The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.”

for the twentieth preposition + article + noun counted as “for … twentieth”

In this reading “"Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.”

two girls noun + noun counted as “two girl”

In this reading “AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.”

All words in this reading · 70

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading So bewildering had been Cecily's revelations about herself and Miss Benedict and the conditions in the mysterious house, that they found inexhaustible food for discussion and conjecture.

absorbingadjectiveUS /əbˈzɔːrbɪŋ/

capable of arousing and holding the attention

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

ATprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

BenedictnounUS /ˈbenədɪkt/

United States anthropologist (1887-1948)

bewilderingverbUS /bɪˈwɪldərɪŋ/

-ing form of “bewilder” — be a mystery or bewildering to

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

Cecily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

Cecily's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

conditionsnounUS /kənˈdɪʃənz/

the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process

conjecturenounUS /kənˈdʒektʃər/

a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence)

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

coursenounUS /kɔːrs/

education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

demandedverbUS /dɪˈmændəd/

past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

discussionnounUS /dɪˈskʌʃən/

an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic

ENDnounUS /end/

either extremity of something that has length

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

foodnounUS /fuːd/

any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

foundverbUS /faʊnd/

set up or found

girlsnounUS /ɡɜːrlz/

plural of “girl” — a young female

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

housenounUS /haʊs/

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

how

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

inexhaustibleadjectiveUS /ˌɪnɪɡˈzɔːstəbəl/

that cannot be entirely consumed or used up

interestingadjectiveUS /ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/

arousing or holding the attention

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

Janet

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

Marcia

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

midnightnounUS /ˈmɪdnaɪt/

12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

MissverbUS /mɪs/

fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind

mostadverbUS /moʊst/

used to form the superlative

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

mothernounUS /ˈmʌðər/

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

mysteriousadjectiveUS /mɪˈstɪriəs/

of an obscure nature

mysterynounUS /ˈmɪstəri/

something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

pastnounUS /pæst/

the time that has elapsed

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

PerhapsadverbUS /pərˈhæps/

by chance

From this reading "Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

questionverbUS /ˈkwestʃən/

challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

relativenounUS /ˈrelətɪv/

a person related by blood or marriage

From this reading "Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

revelationsnounUS /ˌrevəˈleɪʃənz/

plural of “revelation” — the speech act of making something evident

sentnounUS /sent/

100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

settleverbUS /ˈsetəl/

settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

sleepnounUS /sliːp/

a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

SoconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

STRINGnounUS /strɪŋ/

a lightweight cord

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/

used when the people doing the action are also its object

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The most interesting question, of course, was the absorbing mystery of how Cecily came to be there at all.

twentiethnounUS /ˈtwentiəθ/

position 20 in a countable series of things

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

twonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

venturedverbUS /ˈventʃərd/

past form of “venture” — proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers

From this reading "Perhaps she was a relative," ventured Janet.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

WhynounUS /waɪ/

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading "Why should her mother have sent her there?" demanded Marcia, for the twentieth time.

winkverbUS /wɪŋk/

signal by winking

From this reading AT THE END OF THE STRING It was past midnight, that night, before the two girls could settle themselves for a wink of sleep.

Chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door by Augusta Huiell Seaman holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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.

What does chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door contain?

Chapter 8 holds 122 sentences of The Girl Next Door, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door by Augusta Huiell Seaman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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.

How do I study chapter 8 of The Girl Next Door?

Work through the 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 25 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.

Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Girl Next Door

Common questions about reading The Girl Next Door by Augusta Huiell Seaman on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Girl Next Door?

Yes. All 2824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39896 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Girl Next Door is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #39896, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Girl Next Door take to read?

About 235 minutes of reading across 565 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Girl Next Door section by section

How to work through The Girl Next Door section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

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Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Girl Next Door

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Girl Next Door, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Marcia's: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Girl Next Door; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Secret: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Girl Next Door; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Marcia: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Girl Next Door; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Brett: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Girl Next Door; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter VIII

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Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

Questions about reading The Girl Next Door

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Vocabulary met early in The Girl Next Door