Chapter 8 of Cosmic Saboteur is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Cosmic Saboteur is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below. It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier. The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns. And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work.... Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
Chapter 8 of Cosmic Saboteur is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 “ape” — any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
From this reading “And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....”
a wide street or thoroughfare
From this reading “The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.”
earlier in time; previously
From this reading “It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.”
moving with great haste
From this reading “And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....”
plural of “lawn” — a field of cultivated and mowed grass
From this reading “The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.”
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading “The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.”
walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading “And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....”
a plaster now made mostly from Portland cement and sand and lime; applied while soft to cover exterior walls or surfaces
From this reading “The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.”
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 “It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.”
In this reading “Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.”
In this reading “And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....”
a tree planted or valued chiefly for its shade from sunlight
In this reading “The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.”
In this reading “Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.”
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 It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
later than; following
From this reading Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
plural of “ape” — any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
From this reading And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
a wide street or thoroughfare
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
unlike in nature or quality or form or degree
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
earlier in time; previously
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
moving with great haste
From this reading And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
plural of “lawn” — a field of cultivated and mowed grass
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
a particular point in time
From this reading Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
being perceived or observed
From this reading Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....
and nothing more
From this reading Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
walk consisting of a paved area for pedestrians; usually beside a street or roadway
From this reading And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
a plaster now made mostly from Portland cement and sand and lime; applied while soft to cover exterior walls or surfaces
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Only they weren't hurrying, he noticed after a moment.
at the time that
From this reading It didn't seem any different than when he had come in a few minutes earlier.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The wide boulevard of stucco houses, the shade trees and the lawns.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Stan ran to the other window and stared at the street below.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading And a few of the apes on the sidewalk, hurrying to work....
Chapter 8 of Cosmic Saboteur by Frank M. Robinson holds 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 8 holds 167 sentences of Cosmic Saboteur, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Cosmic Saboteur by Frank M. Robinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 167 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 8 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 Cosmic Saboteur by Frank M. Robinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2111 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66540 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66540, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 175 minutes of reading across 423 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cosmic Saboteur section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of Cosmic Saboteur 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 Cosmic Saboteur, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
