Chapter 2 of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel 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 II
Chapter 2 of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel is here in full — 407 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith. "Sure. Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had. Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship! And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
Chapter 2 of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel 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.
plural of “bastard” — insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous
From this reading “And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"”
an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
From this reading “And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"”
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.”
a diplomatic building where ambassadors live or work
From this reading “Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!”
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading “And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"”
plural of “kill” — the act of terminating a life
From this reading “And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"”
having official authority or sanction
From this reading “And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"”
moving to a position on a surface
From this reading “Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!”
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 And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
plural of “bastard” — insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
a diplomatic building where ambassadors live or work
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
divisible by two
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
only a very short time before
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
plural of “kill” — the act of terminating a life
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
having official authority or sanction
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
on one occasion
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
moving to a position on a surface
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
express in words
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
transport commercially
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
a person, without saying who
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
express a supposition
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading "Sure.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "Someone will be watching for him, I suppose?" asked Smith.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Off to the embassy with him and onto the first ship!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I hope he kills a few of the bastards on the way out--they won't even have grounds for an official complaint!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Once he's out of the place, the Yoleenites can hardly demand that we give back what they say they never had.
Chapter 2 of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel by H. B. (Horace Bowne) Fyfe 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 2 holds 407 sentences of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel by H. B. (Horace Bowne) Fyfe 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 2 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 D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel by H. B. (Horace Bowne) Fyfe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4423 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51866 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51866, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 368 minutes of reading across 885 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel 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 D-99: A Science-Fiction Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
