Chapter 8 of The Top of the World is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Top of the World is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night. The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed. Sylvia had no desire to detain her. She longed for solitude. The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.
Chapter 8 of The Top of the World is here in full — 235 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
British statesman famous for his oratory; pleaded the cause of the American colonists in British Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)
From this reading “THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.”
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading “THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.”
deprive of freedom; take into confinement
From this reading “Sylvia had no desire to detain her.”
having lost your job
From this reading “The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.”
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading “The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.”
everlastingly; for all time
From this reading “The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.”
experiencing intense pain especially mental pain
From this reading “The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.”
an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food
From this reading “The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.”
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 The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
British statesman famous for his oratory; pleaded the cause of the American colonists in British Parliament and defended the parliamentary system (1729-1797)
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading Sylvia had no desire to detain her.
deprive of freedom; take into confinement
From this reading Sylvia had no desire to detain her.
having lost your job
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She longed for solitude.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
important for human and animal food; growth habit and stem form similar to Indian corn but having sawtooth-edged leaves
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
past form of “long” — desire strongly or persistently
From this reading She longed for solitude.
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
not any; not one
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
everlastingly; for all time
From this reading The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
a state of social isolation
From this reading She longed for solitude.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sylvia had no desire to detain her.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sylvia had no desire to detain her.
experiencing intense pain especially mental pain
From this reading The thought of Guy tormented her perpetually.
an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
up to a particular time
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE DREAM She had no further communication with Burke that night.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading The old Kaffir woman helped her, brought her a meal on a tray, and waited upon her until dismissed.
Chapter 8 of The Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell holds 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 235 sentences of The Top of the World, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 235 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10126 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12360 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12360, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2026 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Top of the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Top of the World 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 Top of the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
