Chapter 1 of It Takes a Thief is here in full — 686 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of It Takes a Thief is here in full — 686 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars. But were they so clever? They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun. Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls. "How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.
Chapter 1 of It Takes a Thief is here in full — 686 sentences across 138 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/137 · 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.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading “"How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.”
plural of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.”
plural of “firebird” — the male is bright red with black wings and tail
From this reading “They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.”
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading “They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.”
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 “By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.”
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading “By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.”
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.”
regarded with deep or rapturous love (especially as if for a god)
From this reading “By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.”
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 “They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.”
In this reading “Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading "How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But were they so clever?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading But were they so clever?
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
plural of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
plural of “firebird” — the male is bright red with black wings and tail
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
set up or found
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
plural of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
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 By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
not any; not one
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading But were they so clever?
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Coming into the world, they found no air for the breath of their souls.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But were they so clever?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "How shall we breathe?" they asked of the Sun.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading They'd lost their own world._ _"The ancient gods, our Fathers, rode down from the heavens in the Firebirds of the Sun.
regarded with deep or rapturous love (especially as if for a god)
From this reading By Walter Miller, Jr. _Strange gods were worshipped on Mars.
Chapter 1 of It Takes a Thief by Walter M. Miller holds 686 sentences, grouped into 138 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 686 sentences of It Takes a Thief, unabridged, divided into 138 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of It Takes a Thief by Walter M. Miller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 686 sentences, grouped into 138 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 138 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 138 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 It Takes a Thief by Walter M. Miller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 686 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58673 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58673, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 57 minutes of reading across 138 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through It Takes a Thief section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of It Takes a Thief 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 It Takes a Thief, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
