Chapter 4 of Mirage for Planet X is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Mirage for Planet X is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Torry snorted. "I can see you've bought one." Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly. They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region. Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
Chapter 4 of Mirage for Planet X is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
briefly shut the eyes
From this reading “Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.”
have an existence, be extant
From this reading “Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.”
more quickly
From this reading “They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.”
someone with a compulsive desire to expose the genitals
From this reading “Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.”
forward in time or order or degree
From this reading “They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.”
filled with shade
From this reading “They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.”
plural of “signal” — any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading “Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.”
past form of “snort” — indicate contempt by breathing noisily and forcefully through the nose
From this reading “Torry snorted.”
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 “Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.”
In this reading “Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.”
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 They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
belonging to or lasting from times long ago
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
briefly shut the eyes
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
From this reading "I can see you've bought one."
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "I can see you've bought one."
have an existence, be extant
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
more quickly
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
someone with a compulsive desire to expose the genitals
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I can see you've bought one."
plural of “interval” — a definite length of time marked off by two instants
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "I can see you've bought one."
and nothing more
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
forward in time or order or degree
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
past form of “perform” — carry out or perform an action
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
with speed
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
the extended spatial location of something
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I can see you've bought one."
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
filled with shade
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
plural of “signal” — any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
past form of “snort” — indicate contempt by breathing noisily and forcefully through the nose
From this reading Torry snorted.
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
not in physical motion
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They moved steadily onward, faster than before, into a still more shadowy region.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Torry snorted.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Flasher signals on the wall began to blink rapidly.
in or at the place that
From this reading Light itself seemed to exist only at long intervals where age-old radilumes performed a feeble service.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can see you've bought one."
Chapter 4 of Mirage for Planet X by Stanley Mullen holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 4 holds 414 sentences of Mirage for Planet X, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Mirage for Planet X by Stanley Mullen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 4 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 Mirage for Planet X by Stanley Mullen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1649 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63721 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63721, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 137 minutes of reading across 330 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mirage for Planet X section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Mirage for Planet X 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 Mirage for Planet X, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
