Chapter 8 of The Maker of Opportunities is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Maker of Opportunities is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair. Odious situation! Her peccadillo had found her out! What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain. On every hand she heard his praises sung.
Chapter 8 of The Maker of Opportunities is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading “Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.”
having lost your job
From this reading “Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.”
characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
From this reading “What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.”
unequivocally detestable
From this reading “Odious situation!”
plural of “praise” — an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading “On every hand she heard his praises sung.”
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading “On every hand she heard his praises sung.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.”
United States novelist (1862-1937)
From this reading “Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.”
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 “Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
in an ill-natured manner
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
having lost your job
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
set up or found
From this reading Her peccadillo had found her out!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Her peccadillo had found her out!
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
the quality of being without an error or fault
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
a female domestic
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
unequivocally detestable
From this reading Odious situation!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Her peccadillo had found her out!
a petty misdeed
From this reading Her peccadillo had found her out!
plural of “praise” — an expression of approval and commendation
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
on the contrary
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading Odious situation!
not in physical motion
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading On every hand she heard his praises sung.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
United States novelist (1862-1937)
From this reading Miss Wharton rather crossly dismissed her weary maid, and threw herself into an armchair.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading What made the matter still worse was the ingenuous impeccability of her villain.
Chapter 8 of The Maker of Opportunities by George Gibbs holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 109 sentences of The Maker of Opportunities, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Maker of Opportunities by George Gibbs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 Maker of Opportunities by George Gibbs on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3276 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 273 minutes of reading across 656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Maker of Opportunities section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of The Maker of Opportunities 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 Maker of Opportunities, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
