Chapter 8 of The Old Gray Homestead is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Old Gray Homestead is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand. "Why? I thought you were counting the days!" "So I am. But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
Chapter 8 of The Old Gray Homestead is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
being ahead of time or need
From this reading “"I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “"I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.”
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading “I thought you were counting the days!"”
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “"I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “"I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.”
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.”
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading “But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.”
plural of “present” — the period of time that is happening now; any continuous stretch of time including the moment of speech
From this reading “But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.”
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.
(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 But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "So I am.
being ahead of time or need
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading I thought you were counting the days!"
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading I thought you were counting the days!"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
plural of “present” — the period of time that is happening now; any continuous stretch of time including the moment of speech
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So I am.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I thought you were counting the days!"
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought you were counting the days!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I fairly dread to have Christmas come for one reason," had said Mrs. Gray to her husband beforehand.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I thought you were counting the days!"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why?
in the company of; together with
From this reading But I hate to think of all the presents Sylvia's likely to load us down with.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I thought you were counting the days!"
Chapter 8 of The Old Gray Homestead by Frances Parkinson Keyes holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 142 sentences of The Old Gray Homestead, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Old Gray Homestead by Frances Parkinson Keyes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 Old Gray Homestead by Frances Parkinson Keyes on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Gray Homestead section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Old Gray Homestead 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 Old Gray Homestead, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
