Chapter 8 of The Golden Web is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Golden Web is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic. He felt himself between two fires. The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent. The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake. "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
Chapter 8 of The Golden Web is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
offering or expressing apology
From this reading “WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.”
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.”
plural of “fire” — the event of something burning (often destructive)
From this reading “He felt himself between two fires.”
inflected form of “forgive” — stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading “The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.”
repetitive and persistent
From this reading “The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.”
Eurasian tree with orange-red berrylike fruits
From this reading “WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.”
move stealthily
From this reading “WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.”
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading “WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.”
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.
a young female
In this reading “The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.”
In this reading “He felt himself between two fires.”
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 The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
offering or expressing apology
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading He felt himself between two fires.
the two together, not just one
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He felt himself between two fires.
plural of “fire” — the event of something burning (often destructive)
From this reading He felt himself between two fires.
inflected form of “forgive” — stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He felt himself between two fires.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He felt himself between two fires.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
repetitive and persistent
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
accept an excuse for
From this reading "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
Eurasian tree with orange-red berrylike fruits
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
term of address for a man
From this reading "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
move stealthily
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading He felt himself between two fires.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
which person or people
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
belonging to which person
From this reading The man into whose presence he had come was one who never forgave a mistake.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WINIFRED ROWAN The clerk who brought in the little slip of paper was both timid and apologetic.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You will pardon me, sir," he said.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The young lady outside had been a little more than insistent.
Chapter 8 of The Golden Web by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 180 sentences of The Golden Web, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Golden Web by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Golden Web by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5894 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34945 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34945, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 491 minutes of reading across 1179 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Golden Web section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Golden Web 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 Golden Web, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
