Chapter 1 of Farmer is here in full — 496 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Farmer is here in full — 496 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Someone out there didn't like trees. He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process! One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed. Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door. He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
Chapter 1 of Farmer is here in full — 496 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/99 · 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.
in a reflex manner
From this reading “He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.”
coming to maturity
From this reading “He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.”
inflected form of “empty” — make void or empty of contents
From this reading “Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.”
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading “He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.”
the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa
From this reading “He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!”
a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in parts of Chad
From this reading “He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.”
past form of “swoop” — move down on as if in an attack
From this reading “One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed.”
a container with an open top; for discarded paper and other rubbish
From this reading “Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.”
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 policy of granting equal trade opportunities to all countries
In this reading “Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.”
pursue or resume
In this reading “He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.”
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 He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed.
in a reflex manner
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Someone out there didn't like trees.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
coming to maturity
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
inflected form of “empty” — make void or empty of contents
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
owning or consisting of land or real estate
From this reading One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Someone out there didn't like trees.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Someone out there didn't like trees.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
communicate vividly
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
a Nilo-Saharan language spoken in parts of Chad
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Someone out there didn't like trees.
past form of “stroll” — walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
past form of “swoop” — move down on as if in an attack
From this reading One of the auto-copters swooped in and landed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
in or at that place or location
From this reading Someone out there didn't like trees.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
in the direction of
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
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 Someone out there didn't like trees.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He automatically took up a sun helmet before emerging into the Saharan sun.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
a container with an open top; for discarded paper and other rubbish
From this reading Johnny McCord emptied his pipe into the wastebasket, came to his feet and strolled toward the open door.
disposed or inclined toward
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
something or someone that has suffered ruin or dilapidation
From this reading He wanted to wreck the Sahara Project--and he was willing to murder in the process!
Chapter 1 of Farmer by Mack Reynolds holds 496 sentences, grouped into 100 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 496 sentences of Farmer, unabridged, divided into 100 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Farmer by Mack Reynolds exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 496 sentences, grouped into 100 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 100 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 100 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 Farmer by Mack Reynolds on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 989 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51799 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51799, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 82 minutes of reading across 198 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Farmer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Farmer 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 Farmer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
