Chapter 1 of Beast of prey is here in full — 320 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Beast of prey is here in full — 320 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter. "Who was it this time?" Fenner asked. Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit. He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
Chapter 1 of Beast of prey is here in full — 320 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/64 · 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 udder or breast or teat
From this reading “He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.”
an aggressive and violent young criminal
From this reading “Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.”
done or made using whatever is available
From this reading “The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.”
walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading “The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.”
the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
From this reading “The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.”
transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity
From this reading “Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.”
inflected form of “unzip” — open the zipper of
From this reading “Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.”
in a weary manner
From this reading “He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.”
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.
pull or pull out sharply
In this reading “Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.”
In this reading “The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.”
In this reading “The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.”
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 little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Fenner asked.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
an udder or breast or teat
From this reading He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fenner asked.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
an aggressive and violent young criminal
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
done or made using whatever is available
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Who was it this time?"
walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
fasten with a lock
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
an organization to gain political power
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Who was it this time?"
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The little party came through the air lock bearing a limp figure on an improvised litter.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "Who was it this time?"
transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
inflected form of “unzip” — open the zipper of
From this reading Gorsline pulled off the transparent hood that covered his head and face, and unzipped his suit.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Who was it this time?"
in a weary manner
From this reading He dug his fingers wearily into his eyes.
which person or people
From this reading "Who was it this time?"
Chapter 1 of Beast of prey by Jay Williams holds 320 sentences, grouped into 64 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 1 holds 320 sentences of Beast of prey, unabridged, divided into 64 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Beast of prey by Jay Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 320 sentences, grouped into 64 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 64 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 64 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 1 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beast of prey section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Beast of prey 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 Beast of prey, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
