Chapter 1 of Earthmen Bearing Gifts is here in full — 60 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Earthmen Bearing Gifts is here in full — 60 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged! Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating. From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open. It opened. "Enter, my friend," he said.
Chapter 1 of Earthmen Bearing Gifts is here in full — 60 sentences across 12 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading “Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!”
a person or thing equal to another in value or measure or force or effect or significance etc
From this reading “From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.”
plural of “gift” — something acquired without compensation
From this reading “Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!”
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.”
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading “Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!”
-ing form of “meditate” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading “Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.”
a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study
From this reading “From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.”
past form of “will” — decree or ordain
From this reading “From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.”
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 From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
disposed or placed in a particular kind of order
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
the act of delivering or distributing something (as goods or mail)
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
to come or go into
From this reading "Enter, my friend," he said.
a person or thing equal to another in value or measure or force or effect or significance etc
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "Enter, my friend," he said.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
plural of “gift” — something acquired without compensation
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
-ing form of “meditate” — reflect deeply on a subject
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Enter, my friend," he said.
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
To move from a closed position.
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading It opened.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Enter, my friend," he said.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Dhar Ry sat alone in his room, meditating.
a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mars had gifts to offer and Earth had much in return--if delivery could be arranged!
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
past form of “will” — decree or ordain
From this reading From outside the door he caught a thought wave equivalent to a knock, and, glancing at the door, he willed it to slide open.
Chapter 1 of Earthmen Bearing Gifts by Fredric Brown holds 60 sentences, grouped into 12 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 60 sentences of Earthmen Bearing Gifts, unabridged, divided into 12 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Earthmen Bearing Gifts by Fredric Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 60 sentences, grouped into 12 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 12 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 12 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 Earthmen Bearing Gifts by Fredric Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Earthmen Bearing Gifts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Earthmen Bearing Gifts 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 Earthmen Bearing Gifts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
