Chapter 8 of The Oyster is here in full — 463 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Oyster is here in full — 463 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming. I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies. The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_. Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom! Oh, I've got heaps and heaps of people!
Chapter 8 of The Oyster is here in full — 463 sentences across 93 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/92 · 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 shop where a variety of goods are sold
From this reading “"This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.”
the feeling of being bored by something tedious
From this reading “Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!”
English financier (1519-1579)
From this reading “"This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.”
a humming noise
From this reading “"This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.”
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading “Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!”
plural of “nobody” — a person of no influence
From this reading “I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.”
common sense
the act of providing approval and support
From this reading “The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.”
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.
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Oh, I've got heaps and heaps of people!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
a shop where a variety of goods are sold
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
the feeling of being bored by something tedious
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
in a cheerful manner
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
an artistic form of nonverbal communication
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
the act of giving
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Oh, I've got heaps and heaps of people!
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
English financier (1519-1579)
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
a large number or amount
From this reading Oh, I've got heaps and heaps of people!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
a humming noise
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, I've got heaps and heaps of people!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
in the recent past
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
to a great degree or extent
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
plural of “nobody” — a person of no influence
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
common sense
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, I've got heaps and heaps of people!
the act of providing approval and support
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Duchess is giving her patronage, _entre nous_.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This bazaar," said Dollie Gresham, cheerily, "is humming.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I have not been asked about as much as I should like to be lately; people forget poor little nobodies.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Mavis Moover will dance for me--joy for her Grace of Boredom!
Chapter 8 of The Oyster by Peer holds 463 sentences, grouped into 93 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 463 sentences of The Oyster, unabridged, divided into 93 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Oyster by Peer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 463 sentences, grouped into 93 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 93 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 93 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 Oyster by Peer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6910 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35217 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35217, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 575 minutes of reading across 1382 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Oyster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Oyster 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 Oyster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
