Chapter 8 of Tommy is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Tommy is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things. It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away. He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away. "Holloa!" "Holloa!" said Tom, "what is it?"
Chapter 8 of Tommy is here in full — 225 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading “It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.”
not characterized by emotion
From this reading “It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.”
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading “He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.”
found in the ordinary course of events
From this reading “Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.”
possessive form of “pollard” — a tree with limbs cut back to promote a more bushy growth of foliage
From this reading “Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.”
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading “He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.”
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.”
plural of “trench” — a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth
From this reading “He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.”
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 It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
not characterized by emotion
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
a person of German nationality
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
From this reading "Holloa!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Holloa!" said Tom, "what is it?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
engage in
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
found in the ordinary course of events
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
according to the clock
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
possessive form of “pollard” — a tree with limbs cut back to promote a more bushy growth of foliage
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
especially of petals or leaves in bud; having margins rolled inward
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Holloa!" said Tom, "what is it?"
utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking)
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
male cat
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
plural of “trench” — a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading It was now nearly one o'clock in the morning, and the night was chilly; a breeze having sprung up, the clouds had rolled away.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Tom Pollard's mind was suddenly brought back to mundane things.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Holloa!" said Tom, "what is it?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He distinctly heard a shout, and as far as he could make out it came from the German trenches, which were not far away.
Chapter 8 of Tommy by Joseph Hocking holds 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 225 sentences of Tommy, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Tommy by Joseph Hocking exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 225 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Tommy by Joseph Hocking on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2400 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24986 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24986, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 200 minutes of reading across 480 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tommy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Tommy 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 Tommy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
