Chapter 8 of The Willing Horse: A Novel 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 Willing Horse: A Novel is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Good Heavens! You had me there, dear. I own up! For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory. As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
Chapter 8 of The Willing Horse: A Novel 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.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.”
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading “As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.”
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading “"Good Heavens!”
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading “For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.”
a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading “For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.”
past form of “sprint” — run very fast, usually for a short distance
From this reading “As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.”
being four more than twenty
From this reading “For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.”
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.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
In this reading “For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.”
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
In this reading “As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.”
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 As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
dearly loved
From this reading You had me there, dear.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good Heavens!
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading You had me there, dear.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading "Good Heavens!
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I own up!
immediately past
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
go away from a place
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You had me there, dear.
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
impressive in appearance
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading I own up!
a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
a railroad depot in a theater of operations where military supplies are unloaded for distribution
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
and nothing more
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
in the near future
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
past form of “sprint” — run very fast, usually for a short distance
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
in or at that place or location
From this reading You had me there, dear.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
being four more than twenty
From this reading For the last twenty-four hours my noble parent has entirely escaped my memory.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I own up!
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading As soon as they told me that I could go on leave I simply grabbed my haversack, asked the Buzzers to send a wire, and then sprinted for the railhead.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You had me there, dear.
Chapter 8 of The Willing Horse: A Novel by Ian Hay 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 Willing Horse: A Novel, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Willing Horse: A Novel by Ian Hay 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 Willing Horse: A Novel by Ian Hay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5243 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46549 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46549, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 436 minutes of reading across 1049 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Willing Horse: A Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Willing Horse: A Novel 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 Willing Horse: A Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
