Chapter 9 of Cosmic Saboteur is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Cosmic Saboteur is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The nightmares started in Beirut. Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University. He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired. It was late August and things had not gone too well. Agents had disappeared.
Chapter 9 of Cosmic Saboteur is here in full — 273 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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 “agent” — an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect
From this reading “Agents had disappeared.”
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading “It was late August and things had not gone too well.”
capital and largest city of Lebanon; located in western Lebanon on the Mediterranean
From this reading “The nightmares started in Beirut.”
plural of “blind” — people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading “He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.”
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading “Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.”
plural of “nightmare” — a situation resembling a terrifying dream
From this reading “The nightmares started in Beirut.”
the body of faculty and students at a university
From this reading “Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.”
a resident of Venice
From this reading “He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.”
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.
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 Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
plural of “agent” — an active and efficient cause; capable of producing a certain effect
From this reading Agents had disappeared.
a native or inhabitant of the United States
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
capital and largest city of Lebanon; located in western Lebanon on the Mediterranean
From this reading The nightmares started in Beirut.
plural of “blind” — people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
past form of “disappear” — get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading Agents had disappeared.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
destroyed or killed
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The nightmares started in Beirut.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
and nothing more
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
belonging to the modern era; since the Middle Ages
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
plural of “nightmare” — a situation resembling a terrifying dream
From this reading The nightmares started in Beirut.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The nightmares started in Beirut.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The nightmares started in Beirut.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
the body of faculty and students at a university
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
a resident of Venice
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Stan's apartment was a modern one, just a block from the American University.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading It was late August and things had not gone too well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He had opened the wood-slat Venetian blinds and had gone to bed, feeling dead tired.
Chapter 9 of Cosmic Saboteur by Frank M. Robinson holds 273 sentences, grouped into 55 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 9 holds 273 sentences of Cosmic Saboteur, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Cosmic Saboteur by Frank M. Robinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 273 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 9 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.
