Chapter 8 of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall. But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows. These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed. I bent over her. Nayland Smith was at my elbow.
Chapter 8 of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 small recess opening off a larger room
From this reading “These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.”
past form of “bolt” — move or jump suddenly
From this reading “These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.”
having gaps or spaces
From this reading “IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.”
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “Nayland Smith was at my elbow.”
fully extended especially in length
From this reading “These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.”
having a tendency (to); often used in combination
From this reading “But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.”
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.”
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading “But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.”
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.
a small recess opening off a larger room
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Nayland Smith was at my elbow.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading I bent over her.
past form of “bolt” — move or jump suddenly
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
having gaps or spaces
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading Nayland Smith was at my elbow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
having or given a form or shape
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I bent over her.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Nayland Smith was at my elbow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nayland Smith was at my elbow.
not one, and not any
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
fully extended especially in length
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
above and across; more than
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
having a tendency (to); often used in combination
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
cut with a saw
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading Nayland Smith was at my elbow.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
the starting point for a new state or experience
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading IN what order we dashed down to the drawing-room I cannot recall.
at the time that
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading But none was before me when I leaped over the threshold and saw Miss Eltham prone by the French windows.
in the company of; together with
From this reading These were closed and bolted, and she lay with hands outstretched in the alcove which they formed.
Chapter 8 of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 196 sentences of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5373 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #173 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #173, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 447 minutes of reading across 1075 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu 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 Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
