Chapter 8 of The Penalty is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Penalty is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol. His face wore an expression of amused tolerance. "Tell me all about it," he said. "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may. You hid in the closet to listen.
Chapter 8 of The Penalty is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading “His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.”
a storm with widespread snowfall accompanied by strong winds
From this reading “Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.”
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading “You hid in the closet to listen.”
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “You hid in the closet to listen.”
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading “Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.”
past form of “secure” — get by special effort
From this reading “Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.”
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.”
the power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions
From this reading “His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.”
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 "Tell me all about it," he said.
(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 "Tell me all about it," he said.
pleasantly occupied
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
a storm with widespread snowfall accompanied by strong winds
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
demanding attention
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Tell me all about it," he said.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Tell me all about it," he said.
hear with intention
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Tell me all about it," he said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Tell me all about it," he said.
past form of “secure” — get by special effort
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading Blizzard slid from his chair and secured her pistol.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading "Crying _can't_ do any good, and talking may.
express in words
From this reading "Tell me all about it," he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
the power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
inflected form of “wear” — be dressed in
From this reading His face wore an expression of amused tolerance.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You hid in the closet to listen.
Chapter 8 of The Penalty by Gouverneur Morris holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 406 sentences of The Penalty, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Penalty by Gouverneur Morris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Penalty by Gouverneur Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5676 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12557 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12557, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 473 minutes of reading across 1136 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Penalty section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Penalty 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 Penalty, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
