Chapter 1 of Mightiest Qorn is here in full — 697 sentences across 140 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mightiest Qorn is here in full — 697 sentences across 140 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one! Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff. "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?" There was a moment of profound silence. Nitworth leaned forward, looking solemn.
Chapter 1 of Mightiest Qorn is here in full — 697 sentences across 140 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/139 · 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 diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as representative from one country to another
From this reading “Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.”
past form of “assemble” — create by putting components or members together
From this reading “Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.”
past form of “glower” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading “Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.”
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading “Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!”
a heavy precious metallic element; grey-white and resistant to corroding; occurs in some nickel and copper ores and is also found native in some deposits
From this reading “Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.”
marked by skill in deception
From this reading “Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!”
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading “Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.”
defiantly aggressive
From this reading “Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!”
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 “Nitworth leaned forward, looking solemn.”
In this reading “There was a moment of profound silence.”
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 "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
(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 Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
a diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as representative from one country to another
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
past form of “assemble” — create by putting components or members together
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
apart from; not including
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
well known or easily recognized
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Nitworth leaned forward, looking solemn.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
past form of “glower” — look at with a fixed gaze
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
apprehended with certainty
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Nitworth leaned forward, looking solemn.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Nitworth leaned forward, looking solemn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
a particular point in time
From this reading There was a moment of profound silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
a heavy precious metallic element; grey-white and resistant to corroding; occurs in some nickel and copper ores and is also found native in some deposits
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
From this reading There was a moment of profound silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
any competition
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading There was a moment of profound silence.
marked by skill in deception
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises
From this reading Nitworth leaned forward, looking solemn.
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
From this reading Ambassador Nitworth glowered across his mirror-polished, nine-foot platinum desk at his assembled staff.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a moment of profound silence.
defiantly aggressive
From this reading Sly, brave and truculent, the Qornt held all humans in contempt--except one!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a moment of profound silence.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Gentlemen, are any of you familiar with a race known as the Qornt?"
Chapter 1 of Mightiest Qorn by Keith Laumer holds 697 sentences, grouped into 140 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 697 sentences of Mightiest Qorn, unabridged, divided into 140 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mightiest Qorn by Keith Laumer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 697 sentences, grouped into 140 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 140 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 140 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 Mightiest Qorn by Keith Laumer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 697 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61434, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 58 minutes of reading across 140 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mightiest Qorn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Mightiest Qorn 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 Mightiest Qorn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
