Chapter 4 of Astounding Stories, July, 1931 is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Astounding Stories, July, 1931 is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying. Yet not that, for it never had had life. It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously. Jangling out of tune. Every moment its internal energy was lessening.
Chapter 4 of Astounding Stories, July, 1931 is here in full — 183 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs
From this reading “It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.”
driven insane
From this reading “It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.”
planned and made or fashioned artistically
From this reading “_The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.”
having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
From this reading “It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.”
in a laborious manner
From this reading “It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.”
a change downward
From this reading “Every moment its internal energy was lessening.”
the atomic process that occurs during a chemical reaction
From this reading “_The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.”
involved in a kind of operation
From this reading “It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.”
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.
In this reading “_The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.”
In this reading “_The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.”
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 _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
go after with the intent to catch
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
driven insane
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
(physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
From this reading Every moment its internal energy was lessening.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every moment its internal energy was lessening.
to a faint degree or weakly perceived
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
planned and made or fashioned artistically
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
an artful or simulated semblance
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
happening or arising or located within some limits or especially surface
From this reading Every moment its internal energy was lessening.
having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
like the discordant ringing of nonmusical metallic objects striking together
From this reading Jangling out of tune.
in a laborious manner
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
a change downward
From this reading Every moment its internal energy was lessening.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
the atomic process that occurs during a chemical reaction
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
a particular point in time
From this reading Every moment its internal energy was lessening.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
involved in a kind of operation
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
not in physical motion
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading Jangling out of tune.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It lay deranged; out of order; its intricate cycle was still operating, but faintly, laboriously.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading _The Chase to the End of the World_ The giant mechanism, fashioned in the guise of a man, lay dying.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet not that, for it never had had life.
Chapter 4 of Astounding Stories, July, 1931 by Various holds 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 4 holds 183 sentences of Astounding Stories, July, 1931, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Astounding Stories, July, 1931 by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 183 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 4 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 Astounding Stories, July, 1931 by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5571 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31168 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31168, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1115 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Astounding Stories, July, 1931 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Astounding Stories, July, 1931 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 Astounding Stories, July, 1931, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
