Chapter 1 of Big Baby is here in full — 547 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Big Baby is here in full — 547 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician. His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion. Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod. The technician started the machine again. With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
Chapter 1 of Big Baby is here in full — 547 sentences across 110 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 2/109 · 5 reading units · Lines 6–10
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.
having authority or ascendancy or influence
From this reading “Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.”
having the shape or form of a circle
From this reading “With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.”
plural of “dial” — the face of a timepiece; graduated to show the hours
From this reading “His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.”
past form of “hover” — be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
From this reading “His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.”
a humming noise
From this reading “With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.”
close in time; about to occur
From this reading “His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.”
someone whose occupation involves training in a specific technical process
From this reading “"Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.”
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading “Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.”
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 “His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.”
anew
In this reading “With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.”
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 Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
anew
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
having authority or ascendancy or influence
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
of short duration or distance
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
having the shape or form of a circle
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
plural of “dial” — the face of a timepiece; graduated to show the hours
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
past form of “hover” — be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
a humming noise
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
close in time; about to occur
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading The technician started the machine again.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
express or signify by nodding
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
on one occasion
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
above and across; more than
From this reading His fingers hovered over the dials, his body in an attitude of impending motion.
(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The technician started the machine again.
someone whose occupation involves training in a specific technical process
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
departing or being caused to depart from the true vertical or horizontal
From this reading Jerry Norcriss tilted his head in a brief, authoritative nod.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Care to see it again, sir?" asked the technician.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a soft humming, the gray circular screen began to pulse once more with that dancing line of brightness.
Chapter 1 of Big Baby by Jack Sharkey holds 547 sentences, grouped into 110 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 547 sentences of Big Baby, unabridged, divided into 110 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Big Baby by Jack Sharkey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 547 sentences, grouped into 110 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 110 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 110 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 Big Baby by Jack Sharkey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1072 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51735 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51735, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 89 minutes of reading across 215 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Big Baby section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Big Baby 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 Big Baby, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
