Chapter 3 of Nightmare Planet is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Nightmare Planet is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The two of them went back to the cave. It was warm there. The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill. Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable. Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
Chapter 3 of Nightmare Planet is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
the wood cut from a tree burl or outgrowth; often used decoratively in veneer
From this reading “Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.”
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading “The two of them went back to the cave.”
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading “The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.”
providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (“comfy” is informal)
From this reading “Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.”
past form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading “Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.”
half asleep
From this reading “Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.”
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading “The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.”
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading “The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.”
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.
belong to an earlier time
In this reading “The two of them went back to the cave.”
In this reading “Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.”
fall or diminish
In this reading “Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.”
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 The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
the wood cut from a tree burl or outgrowth; often used decoratively in veneer
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (“comfy” is informal)
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
past form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
half asleep
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was warm there.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
in the near future
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Burl and Saya crouched among the rest, and became drowsy and comfortable.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
in or at that place or location
From this reading It was warm there.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
with trust; in a trusting manner
From this reading Presently Saya dropped off to sleep, her hand trustfully in Burl's.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading It was warm there.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was warm there.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The two of them went back to the cave.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The cave was so packed with humans that their body-heat kept the air from growing chill.
Chapter 3 of Nightmare Planet by Murray Leinster holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 3 holds 429 sentences of Nightmare Planet, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Nightmare Planet by Murray Leinster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 3 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 Nightmare Planet by Murray Leinster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1303 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42987 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42987, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 108 minutes of reading across 261 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Nightmare Planet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Nightmare Planet 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 Nightmare Planet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
