Chapter 8 of The Old Room is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 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 Room is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book: “May I talk to you a little? May I tell you something? May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?” He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
Chapter 8 of The Old Room is here in full — 164 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading “Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:”
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading “May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?””
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading “Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:”
set down according to a plan
From this reading “Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?””
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “He moved her hands from his book and looked up:”
a thing, without saying which
From this reading “May I tell you something?”
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading ““May I talk to you a little?”
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.
seek information from
In this reading “He moved her hands from his book and looked up:”
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 “May I talk to you a little?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?”
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “May I talk to you a little?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?”
set down according to a plan
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “May I talk to you a little?
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?”
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading “May I talk to you a little?
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
above and across; more than
From this reading Fru Adelheid laid her hands over Cordt’s book:
a thing, without saying which
From this reading May I tell you something?
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading “May I talk to you a little?
express in words
From this reading May I tell you something?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “May I talk to you a little?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He moved her hands from his book and looked up:
used to ask for information about something
From this reading May I tell you that what you are doing is madness?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “May I talk to you a little?
Chapter 8 of The Old Room by Carl Ewald holds 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 164 sentences of The Old Room, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Old Room by Carl Ewald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 164 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Room by Carl Ewald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62883, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 274 minutes of reading across 658 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Old Room 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 Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
