Chapter 8 of Through the Wheat is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Through the Wheat is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business. “Café bon,” offered Hicks. “Oui. Café bon, très bon,” the man conceded. “J’ai faim.”
Chapter 8 of Through the Wheat is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading ““Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.”
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading ““Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.”
past form of “concede” — admit (to a wrongdoing)
From this reading “Café bon, très bon,” the man conceded.”
the act of departing
From this reading ““Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.”
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading ““Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.”
plural of “hick” — a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
From this reading ““Café bon,” offered Hicks.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading ““Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.”
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading ““Café bon,” offered Hicks.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Café bon,” offered Hicks.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
past form of “concede” — admit (to a wrongdoing)
From this reading Café bon, très bon,” the man conceded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “J’ai faim.”
the act of departing
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
plural of “hick” — a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
From this reading “Café bon,” offered Hicks.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “J’ai faim.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading “Café bon,” offered Hicks.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Oui, café,” the man grunted, going on about his business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Café bon, très bon,” the man conceded.
Chapter 8 of Through the Wheat by Thomas Boyd holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Through the Wheat, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Through the Wheat by Thomas Boyd exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Through the Wheat by Thomas Boyd on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3837 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58796 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58796, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 319 minutes of reading across 768 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Through the Wheat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Through the Wheat 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 Through the Wheat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
