Chapter 1 of Cry Chaos! is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Cry Chaos! is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CRY CHAOS! The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed. But to go there meant certain death.... They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels. They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
Chapter 1 of Cry Chaos! is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
a state of extreme confusion and disorder
From this reading “CRY CHAOS!”
plural of “cinder” — a fragment of incombustible matter left after a wood or coal or charcoal fire
From this reading “They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.”
past form of “dump” — throw away as refuse
From this reading “They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.”
primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and having long jaws with needlelike teeth
From this reading “The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.”
plural of “hatch” — the production of young from an egg
From this reading “They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.”
inflected form of “pry” — to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.”
an inclined surface connecting two levels
From this reading “They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.”
relating to or derived from the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun
From this reading “The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.”
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.
the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field
In this reading “The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.”
In this reading “But to go there meant certain death....”
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 The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But to go there meant certain death....
showing who or what does the action
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading But to go there meant certain death....
a state of extreme confusion and disorder
From this reading CRY CHAOS!
plural of “cinder” — a fragment of incombustible matter left after a wood or coal or charcoal fire
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading CRY CHAOS!
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading But to go there meant certain death....
spoiled or ruined or demolished
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
inflected form of “drag” — pull, as against a resistance
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
past form of “dump” — throw away as refuse
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and having long jaws with needlelike teeth
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading But to go there meant certain death....
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
plural of “hatch” — the production of young from an egg
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
plural of “heel” — the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading But to go there meant certain death....
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
inflected form of “pry” — to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
an inclined surface connecting two levels
From this reading They dumped him on his face in the gravel and cinders of the ramp like a pole-axed _huecco_.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
possessive form of “ship” — a vessel that carries passengers or freight
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
relating to or derived from the sun or utilizing the energies of the sun
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
in or at that place or location
From this reading But to go there meant certain death....
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They got the great silver ship's hatches pried open, finally, and dragged Shane out by his heels.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The dark star held a dread secret that Gar Shane had to discover before our solar system was destroyed.
Chapter 1 of Cry Chaos! by Dwight V. Swain holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 103 sentences of Cry Chaos!, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Cry Chaos! by Dwight V. Swain exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Cry Chaos! by Dwight V. Swain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2755 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65417 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65417, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 229 minutes of reading across 551 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cry Chaos! section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Cry Chaos! 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 Cry Chaos!, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
