Chapter 1 of Mr. Meek Plays Polo is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mr. Meek Plays Polo is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Meek was having his troubles. First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid. And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life. _Atomic Motors Repaired. Busted Plates Patched Up.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Meek Plays Polo is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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.
of or relating to or comprising atoms
plural of “bug” — general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate
From this reading “First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.”
out of working order (“busted” is an informal substitute for “broken”)
From this reading “Busted Plates Patched Up.”
of communal life sequestered from the world under religious vows
From this reading “And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.”
past form of “draft” — draw up an outline or sketch for something
From this reading “And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.”
the act of getting recruits; enlisting people for the army (or for a job or a cause etc.)
From this reading “First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.”
a bitter quarrel between two parties
From this reading “First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.”
mended usually clumsily by covering a hole with a patch
From this reading “Busted Plates Patched Up.”
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.
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 And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
of or relating to or comprising atoms
From this reading _Atomic Motors Repaired.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
plural of “bug” — general term for any insect or similar creeping or crawling invertebrate
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
out of working order (“busted” is an informal substitute for “broken”)
From this reading Busted Plates Patched Up.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
of communal life sequestered from the world under religious vows
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
past form of “draft” — draw up an outline or sketch for something
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
possessing an education (especially having more than average knowledge)
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
the act of getting recruits; enlisting people for the army (or for a job or a cause etc.)
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
a bitter quarrel between two parties
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading Mr. Meek was having his troubles.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Meek was having his troubles.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
From this reading Mr. Meek was having his troubles.
plural of “motor” — machine that converts other forms of energy into mechanical energy and so imparts motion
From this reading _Atomic Motors Repaired.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Meek was having his troubles.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
mended usually clumsily by covering a hole with a patch
From this reading Busted Plates Patched Up.
plural of “plate” — (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading Busted Plates Patched Up.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
a person who participates in or is skilled at some game
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
plural of “rat” — any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
past form of “repair” — restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading _Atomic Motors Repaired.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And now, he was a drafted space-polo player--a fortune bet on his ability at a game he had never played in his cloistered life.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading Mr. Meek was having his troubles.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Busted Plates Patched Up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mr. Meek was having his troubles.
governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
a person who works at a specific occupation
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading First, the _educated_ bugs worried him; then the welfare worker tried to stop the Ring Rats' feud by enlisting his aid.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak holds 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 480 sentences of Mr. Meek Plays Polo, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 933 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63130 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63130, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 77 minutes of reading across 187 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Meek Plays Polo section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Mr. Meek Plays Polo 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 Mr. Meek Plays Polo, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
