Chapter 1 of Beyond Lies the Wub is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Beyond Lies the Wub is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading. Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom. Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning. "What's the matter?" he said. "You're getting paid for all this."
Chapter 1 of Beyond Lies the Wub is here in full — 390 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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 “fool” — a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “_The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.”
Spanish general whose armies took control of Spain in 1939 and who ruled as a dictator until his death (1892-1975)
From this reading “Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.”
a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside
From this reading “Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.”
in an unhurried way or at one's convenience
From this reading “Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.”
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading “_The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.”
plural of “philosopher” — a specialist in philosophy
From this reading “_The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.”
negligent of neatness especially in dress and person; habitually dirty and unkempt
From this reading “_The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "You're getting paid for all this."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
past form of “fold” — bend or lay so that one part covers the other
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
plural of “fool” — a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "You're getting paid for all this."
Spanish general whose armies took control of Spain in 1939 and who ruled as a dictator until his death (1892-1975)
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "You're getting paid for all this."
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "What's the matter?" he said.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
in an unhurried way or at one's convenience
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "What's the matter?" he said.
the force of workers available
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
marked by the reception of pay
From this reading "You're getting paid for all this."
plural of “philosopher” — a specialist in philosophy
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
negligent of neatness especially in dress and person; habitually dirty and unkempt
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
doomed to extinction
From this reading Outside stood the Optus, his arms folded, his face sunk in gloom.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "You're getting paid for all this."
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Captain Franco walked leisurely down the gangplank, grinning.
(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 _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's the matter?" he said.
in the company of; together with
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools._ They had almost finished with the loading.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You're getting paid for all this."
Chapter 1 of Beyond Lies the Wub by Philip K. Dick holds 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 390 sentences of Beyond Lies the Wub, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Beyond Lies the Wub by Philip K. Dick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 390 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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.
Common questions about reading Beyond Lies the Wub by Philip K. Dick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 390 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28554 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28554, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 32 minutes of reading across 78 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beyond Lies the Wub section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Beyond Lies the Wub 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 Beyond Lies the Wub, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
