Chapter 1 of Captain Midas 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 I
Chapter 1 of Captain Midas is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By ALFRED COPPEL, JR. The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void. Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams! How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares? Gold!
Chapter 1 of Captain Midas 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.
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading “By ALFRED COPPEL, JR.”
in an avid manner
From this reading “The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.”
worn and broken down by hard use
From this reading “The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.”
imaginary people who live on the planet Mars
From this reading “The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.”
plural of “nightmare” — a situation resembling a terrifying dream
From this reading “How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?”
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading “The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.”
lacking any legal or binding force
From this reading “The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.”
superlative of “wild” — marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading “Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!”
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 “Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading By ALFRED COPPEL, JR.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
in an avid manner
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
on the far side of; further than
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By ALFRED COPPEL, JR.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By ALFRED COPPEL, JR.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
worn and broken down by hard use
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
borne up by or suspended in a liquid
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
coins made of gold
From this reading Gold!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading By ALFRED COPPEL, JR.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
a female domestic
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
imaginary people who live on the planet Mars
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
plural of “nightmare” — a situation resembling a terrifying dream
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading How could he know his dreams should have been nightmares?
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
having edges that are jagged from injury
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
lacking any legal or binding force
From this reading The captain of the Martian Maid stared avidly at the torn derelict floating against the velvet void.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
superlative of “wild” — marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Here was treasure beyond his wildest dreams!
Chapter 1 of Captain Midas by Alfred Coppel 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 1 holds 407 sentences of Captain Midas, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Captain Midas by Alfred Coppel 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 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 Captain Midas by Alfred Coppel on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 407 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63867 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63867, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 33 minutes of reading across 82 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Captain Midas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Captain Midas 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 Captain Midas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
