Chapter 5 of First Lensman is here in full — 343 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of First Lensman is here in full — 343 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"So you didn't find anything on Nevia." Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets. "I'm surprised. Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O.... I thought sure he'd qualify."
Chapter 5 of First Lensman is here in full — 343 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/68 · 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 receptacle for the ash from smokers' cigars or cigarettes
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
(used in the plural) trousers ending above the knee
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
past form of “deposit” — put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
prove capable or fit; meet requirements
From this reading “I thought sure he'd qualify."”
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.
In this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
rise to one's feet
In this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
In this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
In this reading “Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.”
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 Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
any thing at all
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
a receptacle for the ash from smokers' cigars or cigarettes
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
(used in the plural) trousers ending above the knee
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
a roll of tobacco for smoking
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
past form of “deposit” — put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I thought sure he'd qualify."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I thought sure he'd qualify."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm surprised.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
provided with artificial light
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
plural of “pocket” — a small pouch inside a garment for carrying small articles
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
prove capable or fit; meet requirements
From this reading I thought sure he'd qualify."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading I thought sure he'd qualify."
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading "I'm surprised.
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading Nerado struck me as being a B.T.O....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought sure he'd qualify."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Roderick Kinnison got up, deposited the inch-long butt of his cigar in an ashtray, lit another, and prowled about the room; hands jammed deep into breeches pockets.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "So you didn't find anything on Nevia."
Chapter 5 of First Lensman by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith holds 343 sentences, grouped into 69 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 5 holds 343 sentences of First Lensman, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of First Lensman by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 343 sentences, grouped into 69 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 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 69 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 5 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 First Lensman by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7456 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49525 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49525, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1492 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through First Lensman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of First Lensman 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 First Lensman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
