Chapter 1 of Flowering Evil is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Flowering Evil is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize. It hoped so too. Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head. "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said. "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
Chapter 1 of Flowering Evil is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
having dark hairs mixed with grey or white
From this reading “Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.”
of or relating to or resembling the physical or orbital characteristics of a planet or the planets
From this reading “"I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.”
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading “"I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.”
plural of “plant” — buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading “Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.”
something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery
From this reading “Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.”
enforced isolation of patients suffering from a contagious disease in order to prevent the spread of disease
From this reading “"I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.”
a person who takes long walks in the country
From this reading “Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.”
plural of “world” — everything that exists anywhere
From this reading “Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.”
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 “Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.”
In this reading “Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.”
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 Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
very far away in space or time
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
having dark hairs mixed with grey or white
From this reading Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It hoped so too.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
of or relating to or resembling the physical or orbital characteristics of a planet or the planets
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
plural of “plant” — buildings for carrying on industrial labor
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
enforced isolation of patients suffering from a contagious disease in order to prevent the spread of disease
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
a person who takes long walks in the country
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
cut with a saw
From this reading "I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less," he said.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading It hoped so too.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading "I don't know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading It hoped so too.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
plural of “world” — everything that exists anywhere
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Like all her other plants from far-off worlds, Aunt Amy hoped the Venusian Rambler would win a prize.
Chapter 1 of Flowering Evil by Margaret St. Clair holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 217 sentences of Flowering Evil, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Flowering Evil by Margaret St. Clair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Flowering Evil by Margaret St. Clair 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 Flowering Evil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Flowering Evil 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 Flowering Evil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
