Chapter 8 of The Stolen Singer is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Stolen Singer is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?" "I think so, now that I have the life preserver. But the rope scared me for a minute. It got wound about my feet." "I thought so.
Chapter 8 of The Stolen Singer is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/59 · 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.
aimlessly drifting
From this reading “ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"”
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading “ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"”
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading “But the rope scared me for a minute.”
a skilled worker who is employed to restore or refinish buildings or antique furniture
From this reading “"I think so, now that I have the life preserver.”
a strong line
From this reading “But the rope scared me for a minute.”
a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven
From this reading “ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"”
made afraid
From this reading “But the rope scared me for a minute.”
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading “It got wound about my feet."”
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 But the rope scared me for a minute.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading It got wound about my feet."
aimlessly drifting
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the rope scared me for a minute.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading It got wound about my feet."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But the rope scared me for a minute.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading It got wound about my feet."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It got wound about my feet."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But the rope scared me for a minute.
a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour
From this reading But the rope scared me for a minute.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It got wound about my feet."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
a skilled worker who is employed to restore or refinish buildings or antique furniture
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
a strong line
From this reading But the rope scared me for a minute.
a texture of a surface or edge that is not smooth but is irregular and uneven
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
made afraid
From this reading But the rope scared me for a minute.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I think so, now that I have the life preserver.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I thought so.
an injury to living tissue (especially an injury involving a cut or break in the skin)
From this reading It got wound about my feet."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ON THE BREAST OF THE SEA "Can you keep afloat in this roughness?"
Chapter 8 of The Stolen Singer by Martha Idell Fletcher Bellinger holds 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 297 sentences of The Stolen Singer, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Stolen Singer by Martha Idell Fletcher Bellinger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 Stolen Singer by Martha Idell Fletcher Bellinger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4742 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17495 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17495, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 395 minutes of reading across 949 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Stolen Singer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Stolen Singer 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 Stolen Singer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
