Chapter 8 of Vera, the Medium is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Vera, the Medium is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop. “That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.” “Why, I know that house well. We boys used to call it the haunted house.” “That’s the one,” assented Vera.
Chapter 8 of Vera, the Medium is here in full — 227 sentences across 46 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.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “We boys used to call it the haunted house.””
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “We boys used to call it the haunted house.””
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading ““That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.””
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading ““With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.”
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading “We boys used to call it the haunted house.””
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading ““With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.”
in a triumphant manner
From this reading ““That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.””
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading “We boys used to call it the haunted house.””
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s the one,” assented Vera.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.
having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “Why, I know that house well.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Why, I know that house well.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Why, I know that house well.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “That’s the one,” assented Vera.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading “With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Why, I know that house well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
in a triumphant manner
From this reading “That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.”
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s it!” cried Vera triumphantly, “with poplars round it.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We boys used to call it the haunted house.”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Why, I know that house well.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading “Why, I know that house well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “With poplars round it?” demanded Winthrop.
Chapter 8 of Vera, the Medium by Richard Harding Davis holds 227 sentences, grouped into 46 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 227 sentences of Vera, the Medium, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Vera, the Medium by Richard Harding Davis exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 227 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 Vera, the Medium by Richard Harding Davis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2664 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1843 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1843, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 222 minutes of reading across 533 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Vera, the Medium section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Vera, the Medium 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 Vera, the Medium, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
