The Heart of the Red Firs

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Heart of the Red Firs is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Ada Woodruff Anderson • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Heart of the Red Firs

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

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/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter VIII Reading 1/83

The Heart of the Red Firs Ada Woodruff Anderson

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Heart of the Red Firs is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence. He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain. Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome. They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level. The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

The Heart of the Red Firs

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Heart of the Red Firs is here in full — 417 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

Line 2

He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

Line 3

Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

Line 4

They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

/ðeɪ ɡeɪnd ðə spɜːr ənd ˈhɔːltəd ˈbriːðɪŋ ðə ˈhɔːrsəz ɑːn ə bredθ ʌv ˈlevəl/

Line 5

The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

/ðə ɡɜːrl tɜːrnd ə ˈlɪtəl ɪn hɜːr ˈsædəl tuː lʊk daʊn/

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.

cruise verb US /kruːz/

drive around aimlessly but ostentatiously and at leisure

From this reading “In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.”

dome noun US /doʊm/

a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward

From this reading “Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.”

exerted verb US /ɪɡˈzɜːrtɪd/

past form of “exert” — put to use

From this reading “In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.”

knobby adjective US /ˈnɑːbi/

having knobs

From this reading “Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.”

lapsed adjective US /læpst/

no longer active or practicing

From this reading “In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.”

moody noun US /ˈmuːdi/

United States tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the 1920s and 1930s (1905-1998)

From this reading “In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.”

tilting verb US /ˈtɪltɪŋ/

-ing form of “tilt” — to incline or bend from a vertical position

From this reading “Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.”

unalloyed adjective US /əˈnælɔɪd/

free from admixture

From this reading “In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.”

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.

moody silence noun + noun

In this reading “In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.”

look down verb + adjective

In this reading “The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.”

in the afternoon preposition + article + noun counted as “in … afternoon”

In this reading “He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.”

All words in this reading · 72

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 He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

afternoonnounUS /ˌæftərˈnuːn/

the part of the day between noon and evening

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

Alice

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

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

anotherdeterminerUS /əˈnʌðər/

one more of the same kind, or a different one

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

BelowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

breadthnounUS /bredθ/

the capacity to understand a broad range of topics

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

breathingnounUS /ˈbriːðɪŋ/

the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation; the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

concealedadjectiveUS /kənˈsiːld/

not accessible to view

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

cross-cut

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

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

cruiseverbUS /kruːz/

drive around aimlessly but ostentatiously and at leisure

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

dippedadjectiveUS /dɪpt/

having abnormal sagging of the spine (especially in horses)

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

domenounUS /doʊm/

a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

endnounUS /end/

either extremity of something that has length

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

exertedverbUS /ɪɡˈzɜːrtɪd/

past form of “exert” — put to use

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

foundverbUS /faʊnd/

set up or found

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

gainedverbUS /ɡeɪnd/

past form of “gain” — obtain

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

girlnounUS /ɡɜːrl/

a young female

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

haltedverbUS /ˈhɔːltəd/

past form of “halt” — cause to stop

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

hithertoadverbUS /ˈhɪðɜːrˈtuː/

used in negative statement to describe a situation that has existed up to this point or up to the present time

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

horsesnounUS /ˈhɔːrsəz/

plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

hungverbUS /hʌŋ/

inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

knobbyadjectiveUS /ˈnɑːbi/

having knobs

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

lapsedadjectiveUS /læpst/

no longer active or practicing

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

lateadjectiveUS /leɪt/

being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

levelnounUS /ˈlevəl/

a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

makeverbUS /meɪk/

engage in

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

moodynounUS /ˈmuːdi/

United States tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the 1920s and 1930s (1905-1998)

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

mountainnounUS /ˈmaʊntən/

a land mass that projects well above its surroundings; higher than a hill

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

overheadadverbUS /ˈoʊvərˈhed/

above your head; in the sky

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

PhilipnounUS /ˈfɪləp/

Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

pitchnounUS /pɪtʃ/

the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

pleasurenounUS /ˈpleʒər/

a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

ridingnounUS /ˈraɪdɪŋ/

the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

saddleverbUS /ˈsædəl/

put a saddle on

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

sectionnounUS /ˈsekʃən/

a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

sharpadjectiveUS /ʃɑːrp/

(of something seen or heard) clearly defined

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

shelfnounUS /ʃelf/

A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

shoulderverbUS /ˈʃoʊldər/

lift onto one's shoulders

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

silencenounUS /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

spurnounUS /spɜːr/

a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

Stratton

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

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

switchback

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

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They gained the spur and halted, breathing the horses on a breadth of level.

tiltingverbUS /ˈtɪltɪŋ/

-ing form of “tilt” — to incline or bend from a vertical position

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

trailnounUS /treɪl/

a track or mark left by something that has passed

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

trueadjectiveUS /truː/

consistent with fact or reality; not false

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading The girl turned a little in her saddle to look down.

unalloyedadjectiveUS /əˈnælɔɪd/

free from admixture

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading Below them dipped a cross-cut of trail, and overhead another section of the switchback hung like a tilting shelf under a knobby shoulder that concealed the true dome.

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

waynounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading In the end Philip had his way, and Stratton, who had exerted himself, hitherto, to make the cruise one of unalloyed pleasure, lapsed into moody silence.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading He found himself, late in the afternoon, riding with Alice, up a sharp pitch of the mountain.

Chapter 8 of The Heart of the Red Firs by Ada Woodruff Anderson holds 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 Heart of the Red Firs contain?

Chapter 8 holds 417 sentences of The Heart of the Red Firs, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of The Heart of the Red Firs by Ada Woodruff Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 417 sentences, grouped into 84 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 Heart of the Red Firs?

Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 84 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.

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Yes. All 6246 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48644 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #48644, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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About 520 minutes of reading across 1250 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Heart of the Red Firs

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Heart of the Red Firs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Printers: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Heart of the Red Firs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
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Chapter VIII

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