Chapter 8 of The Spanish Brothers is here in full — 388 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Spanish Brothers is here in full — 388 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly. "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself." "What! Is there really a meaning in this madness? Have you and your friends a secret?"
Chapter 8 of The Spanish Brothers is here in full — 388 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949)
From this reading “"I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.”
with resolute determination
From this reading “"I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.”
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading “"I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “Is there really a meaning in this madness?”
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading “Is there really a meaning in this madness?”
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading “"I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."”
accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.
From this reading “"I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."”
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading “"I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."”
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 "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
(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 "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Have you and your friends a secret?"
Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949)
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
with resolute determination
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Have you and your friends a secret?"
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
the message that is intended or expressed or signified
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading Have you and your friends a secret?"
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "I _have_ gained something," said Carlos firmly.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
in or at that place or location
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Is there really a meaning in this madness?
accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What!
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading "I have gained a treasure worth more than all I risk, more than life itself."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Have you and your friends a secret?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Have you and your friends a secret?"
Chapter 8 of The Spanish Brothers by Deborah Alcock holds 388 sentences, grouped into 78 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 388 sentences of The Spanish Brothers, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Spanish Brothers by Deborah Alcock exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 388 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 Spanish Brothers by Deborah Alcock on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6813 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40346 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40346, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 567 minutes of reading across 1363 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Spanish Brothers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Spanish Brothers 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 Spanish Brothers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
