Chapter 8 of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things." The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney. "Saying I’m a coward, are they?" He forced the words out. "What do you think, Sybil?"
Chapter 8 of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
From this reading “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “"Saying I’m a coward, are they?"”
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading “He forced the words out.”
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
push forcefully
From this reading “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
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 “The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.”
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 "Saying I’m a coward, are they?"
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading "Saying I’m a coward, are they?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "What do you think, Sybil?"
opinion or judgment
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading He forced the words out.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He forced the words out.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Saying I’m a coward, are they?"
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
deprived of life; no longer living
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He forced the words out.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What do you think, Sybil?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Saying I’m a coward, are they?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading "They’re saying things, Peter: all these people are saying things."
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "What do you think, Sybil?"
push forcefully
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What do you think, Sybil?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading The man thrust his hands into his pockets, and stared with brooding eyes at the black, lifeless chimney.
the words that are spoken
From this reading He forced the words out.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What do you think, Sybil?"
Chapter 8 of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4866 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49590 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49590, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 405 minutes of reading across 974 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories 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 Man in Ratcatcher, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
