Chapter 8 of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly. “Your memory never fails you there.” “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus. “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.” “Very true,” said Jack Frost.
Chapter 8 of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
navigational instrument for finding directions
From this reading “THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.”
an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles
From this reading ““The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.””
third-person singular of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading ““Your memory never fails you there.””
ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)
From this reading “THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.”
plural of “meal” — the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading “THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.”
a dark grey cloud bearing rain
From this reading ““Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.”
rebuking a person harshly
From this reading ““Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.”
in a tart manner
From this reading “THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.”
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.
a planet (usually Venus) seen at sunset in the western sky
In this reading ““The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.””
In this reading ““The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.””
In this reading ““Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
navigational instrument for finding directions
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
third-person singular of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading “Your memory never fails you there.”
plural of “fellow” — a boy or man
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside)
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
destroyed or killed
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
of great significance or value
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
a small worthless amount
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
plural of “meal” — the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading “Your memory never fails you there.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
a dark grey cloud bearing rain
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
rebuking a person harshly
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
in a tart manner
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
in or at that place or location
From this reading “Your memory never fails you there.”
a special situation
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “Very true,” said Jack Frost.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
precisely as stated
From this reading “Very true,” said Jack Frost.
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading “Let us not waste time scolding them,” said Nimbus.
in or at the place that
From this reading “The important thing is to find where the Equator and the Evening Star have gone.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading THE COMPASS “Strange that you fellows never forget to ask for your meals,” said Jack Frost tartly.
Chapter 8 of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange by Lilian Bell holds 94 sentences, grouped into 19 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 94 sentences of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange by Lilian Bell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 94 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 Runaway Equator, and the Strange by Lilian Bell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1332 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61854 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61854, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 111 minutes of reading across 267 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Runaway Equator, and the Strange section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Runaway Equator, and the Strange 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 Runaway Equator, and the Strange, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
