Chapter 1 of Mr. Spaceship is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mr. Spaceship is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Go ahead, then," Gross said. "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him. He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could. The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them. The ship leaped.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Spaceship is here in full — 455 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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.
any material that fills a space or container
From this reading “The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.”
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading “He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.”
before any deductions
From this reading “"Go ahead, then," Gross said.”
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading “The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.”
characterized by violent and forceful activity or movement; very intense
From this reading “The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.”
an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart)
From this reading “The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.”
plural of “turbine” — rotary engine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid is converted into mechanical energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate
From this reading “The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.”
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading “The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.”
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.
proceed (with a plan of action)
In this reading “"Go ahead, then," Gross said.”
fix to; attach
In this reading “He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.”
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 "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
at or in the front
From this reading "Go ahead, then," Gross said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
any material that fills a space or container
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Go ahead, then," Gross said.
past form of “grasp” — hold firmly
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
before any deductions
From this reading "Go ahead, then," Gross said.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
a particular point in time
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
characterized by violent and forceful activity or movement; very intense
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Go ahead, then," Gross said.
transport commercially
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
make steady
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Go ahead, then," Gross said.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart)
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
plural of “turbine” — rotary engine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid is converted into mechanical energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
directly under, often hidden by what is above
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
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 He grasped one of the wall holds and hung on as best he could.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The Professor--" Kramer began, but at that moment there was a tremendous roar and the ship leaped under him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The cabin was filling with a steady throbbing, the raging of the jet turbines underneath them.
Chapter 1 of Mr. Spaceship by Philip K. Dick holds 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 455 sentences of Mr. Spaceship, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mr. Spaceship by Philip K. Dick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 455 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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. Spaceship by Philip K. Dick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 905 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32522 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32522, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 75 minutes of reading across 181 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mr. Spaceship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Mr. Spaceship 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. Spaceship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
