Chapter 8 of The Touch of Abner is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Touch of Abner is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"One of your special enemies, I suppose." "Sure." "Has he eaten any yet?" "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long." "To-night?"
Chapter 8 of The Touch of Abner is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading “"Has he eaten any yet?"”
plural of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading “"One of your special enemies, I suppose."”
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “"Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."”
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading “"Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."”
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading “"One of your special enemies, I suppose."”
express a supposition
From this reading “"One of your special enemies, I suppose."”
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading “"Sure."”
in spite of the fact that
From this reading “"Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."”
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 "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Has he eaten any yet?"
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading "Has he eaten any yet?"
plural of “enemy” — an opposing military force
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Has he eaten any yet?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Has he eaten any yet?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
the food served and eaten at one time
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
express a supposition
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading "Sure."
in spite of the fact that
From this reading "Not a d—n one, though I expect he’ll have a meal before long."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "To-night?"
but in spite of that
From this reading "Has he eaten any yet?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "One of your special enemies, I suppose."
Chapter 8 of The Touch of Abner by H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of The Touch of Abner, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Touch of Abner by H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Touch of Abner by H. A. (Hiram Alfred) Cody on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6854 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53604 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53604, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 571 minutes of reading across 1371 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Touch of Abner section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of The Touch of Abner 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 Touch of Abner, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
