Chapter 4 of Beyond the stars is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Beyond the stars is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me. Eyes no larger than my own! Our vehicle . . myself—gigantic!
Chapter 4 of Beyond the stars is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading “These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.”
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading “These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.”
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading “These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.”
so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth
From this reading “. myself—gigantic!”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.”
large or big relative to something else
From this reading “Eyes no larger than my own!”
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading “. myself—gigantic!”
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading “Our vehicle .”
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 “These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.”
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 These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
opinion or judgment
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth
From this reading . myself—gigantic!
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
large or big relative to something else
From this reading Eyes no larger than my own!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Eyes no larger than my own!
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading . myself—gigantic!
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
not any; not one
From this reading Eyes no larger than my own!
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our vehicle .
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Eyes no larger than my own!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Eyes no larger than my own!
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading Our vehicle .
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading These were gleaming eyes in a black night, gleaming eyes close around me.
Chapter 4 of Beyond the stars by Ray Cummings holds 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 407 sentences of Beyond the stars, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Beyond the stars by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 407 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 Beyond the stars by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4531 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #72913 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #72913, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 377 minutes of reading across 907 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beyond the stars section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Beyond the stars 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 the stars, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
