Chapter 8 of Victory: An Island Tale is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Victory: An Island Tale is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“It surprised you, didn't it? That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though. You know how he can trot around with trays? Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly. And fond of the governor!
Chapter 8 of Victory: An Island Tale is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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 person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.”
in a clever manner
From this reading “Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.”
having gaps or spaces
From this reading “That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.”
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading “Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.”
plural of “tray” — an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food
From this reading “You know how he can trot around with trays?”
run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “You know how he can trot around with trays?”
being of use or service
From this reading “That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.”
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
From this reading “That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.”
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 That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And fond of the governor!
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading You know how he can trot around with trays?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You know how he can trot around with trays?
in a clever manner
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
having gaps or spaces
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “It surprised you, didn't it?
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
having or displaying warmth or affection
From this reading And fond of the governor!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
the act of giving
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
the head of a state government
From this reading And fond of the governor!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It surprised you, didn't it?
and nothing more
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know how he can trot around with trays?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
an adult castrated bull of the genus Bos; especially Bos taurus
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “It surprised you, didn't it?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
plural of “tray” — an open receptacle for holding or displaying or serving articles or food
From this reading You know how he can trot around with trays?
run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading You know how he can trot around with trays?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
being of use or service
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
(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 Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
in the company of; together with
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Well, he could bring down an ox with his fist, at a word from the boss, just as cleverly.
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
From this reading That's why I am giving you this yarn of how he came to be with us, like a sort of dog--dashed sight more useful, though.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “It surprised you, didn't it?
Chapter 8 of Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of Victory: An Island Tale, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8505 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6378 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6378, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1701 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Victory: An Island Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Victory: An Island Tale 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 Victory: An Island Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
