Chapter 3 of Captive of the Centaurianess is here in full — 471 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Captive of the Centaurianess is here in full — 471 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Space swam and blazed with a million million suns. They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays. A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel. "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann. "I think--" muttered Ray.
Chapter 3 of Captive of the Centaurianess is here in full — 471 sentences across 95 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading “Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.”
past form of “bunch” — form into a bunch
From this reading “They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.”
so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly
From this reading “A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.”
plural of “sun” — the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading “Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.”
the act of diluting something
From this reading “They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.”
a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its cost of production
From this reading “"Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.”
a variable quantity that can be resolved into components
From this reading “They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.”
distance travelled per unit time
From this reading “They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.”
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 “They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.”
In this reading “A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.”
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 Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
past form of “add” — make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
at or in the front
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
past form of “bunch” — form into a bunch
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
ludicrously odd
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I think--" muttered Ray.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "I think--" muttered Ray.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
having a point
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
with speed
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
a column of light (as from a beacon)
From this reading "I think--" muttered Ray.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
transport commercially
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
plural of “sun” — the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
inflected form of “swim” — travel through water
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I think--" muttered Ray.
the act of diluting something
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
in the direction of
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its cost of production
From this reading "Vat planet is that up ahead?" pointed Dyann.
a variable quantity that can be resolved into components
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
distance travelled per unit time
From this reading They bunched near the forward port, thinning out toward the rear, as the ship added its fantastic velocity vector to their light-rays.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading A distorted pale-green globe grew rapidly before the vessel.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Space swam and blazed with a million million suns.
Chapter 3 of Captive of the Centaurianess by Poul Anderson holds 471 sentences, grouped into 95 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 3 holds 471 sentences of Captive of the Centaurianess, unabridged, divided into 95 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Captive of the Centaurianess by Poul Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 471 sentences, grouped into 95 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 95 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 95 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 3 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 Captive of the Centaurianess by Poul Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1437 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64075 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64075, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 119 minutes of reading across 288 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Captive of the Centaurianess section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Captive of the Centaurianess 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 Captive of the Centaurianess, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
