Chapter 8 of The Sick-a-Bed Lady is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Sick-a-Bed Lady is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With a little frightened gasp she began to run. "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right. And I'll never leave it again." Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door. No one was there to greet her.
Chapter 8 of The Sick-a-Bed Lady is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
well known or easily recognized
From this reading “Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.”
-ing form of “flush” — turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
From this reading “Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.”
made afraid
From this reading “With a little frightened gasp she began to run.”
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading “With a little frightened gasp she began to run.”
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “No one was there to greet her.”
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading “Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.”
logically valid
From this reading “"If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.”
having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented
From this reading “Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
anew
From this reading And I'll never leave it again."
(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 "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I'll never leave it again."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
well known or easily recognized
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
-ing form of “flush” — turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
made afraid
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading No one was there to greet her.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I'll never leave it again."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading And I'll never leave it again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
go away from a place
From this reading And I'll never leave it again."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading And I'll never leave it again."
not any; not one
From this reading No one was there to greet her.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one was there to greet her.
and nothing more
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
logically valid
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
in or at that place or location
From this reading No one was there to greet her.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented
From this reading Half an hour later, panting and flushing, she twisted her latch-key through the familiar home door.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No one was there to greet her.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "If I only can get to the house," she reasoned, "then everything will be all right.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a little frightened gasp she began to run.
Chapter 8 of The Sick-a-Bed Lady by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 393 sentences of The Sick-a-Bed Lady, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Sick-a-Bed Lady by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Sick-a-Bed Lady by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4508 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34829 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34829, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 375 minutes of reading across 902 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sick-a-Bed Lady section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Sick-a-Bed Lady 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 Sick-a-Bed Lady, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
