Chapter 8 of The island is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The island is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GOVERNMENT, ARTS, AND LAWS. Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws. This is what I learn. Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls. Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
Chapter 8 of The island is here in full — 76 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
far away from home or one's usual surroundings
From this reading “Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.”
studies intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than occupational or professional skills)
From this reading “GOVERNMENT, ARTS, AND LAWS.”
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading “Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.”
the people who inhabit a territory or state
From this reading “Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.”
the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading “Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.”
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.”
queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India from 1837 to 1901; the last Hanoverian ruler of England (1819-1901)
From this reading “Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.”
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.
In this reading “Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.”
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.
far away from home or one's usual surroundings
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading GOVERNMENT, ARTS, AND LAWS.
studies intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than occupational or professional skills)
From this reading GOVERNMENT, ARTS, AND LAWS.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit
From this reading GOVERNMENT, ARTS, AND LAWS.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
ten 10s
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is what I learn.
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading GOVERNMENT, ARTS, AND LAWS.
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading This is what I learn.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
the force of workers available
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
the people who inhabit a territory or state
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
the state of being covered with unclean things
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is what I learn.
up to a particular time
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India from 1837 to 1901; the last Hanoverian ruler of England (1819-1901)
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
(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 Our arts--well, we till the soil, as aforesaid, but in our own way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading This is what I learn.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Victoria goes afield, and I return to the house, to smoke with the Ancient, and to interview him on government, arts, and laws.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Our population, men, women and children, is less than one hundred souls.
Chapter 8 of The island by Richard Whiteing holds 76 sentences, grouped into 16 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 76 sentences of The island, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The island by Richard Whiteing exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 76 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 island by Richard Whiteing on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3120 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73620 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73620, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 260 minutes of reading across 624 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The island section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The island 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 island, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
