Chapter 15 of Occasion ... for Disaster is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Occasion ... for Disaster is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly. "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud. Then he paused. "Are you there, anybody?" He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
Chapter 15 of Occasion ... for Disaster is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading “"That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.”
any person at all
From this reading “"Are you there, anybody?"”
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.”
range of what one can know or understand
From this reading “He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.”
English scholar remembered for his chronology of Shakespeare's plays and his editions of Shakespeare and Dryden (1741-1812)
From this reading “The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.”
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading “Then he paused.”
with speed
From this reading “The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.”
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading “He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.”
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.
move out of or depart from
In this reading “The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.”
In this reading “He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.”
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 town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
using the voice; not silently
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
any person at all
From this reading "Are you there, anybody?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you there, anybody?"
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
range of what one can know or understand
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
English scholar remembered for his chronology of Shakespeare's plays and his editions of Shakespeare and Dryden (1741-1812)
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
past form of “pause” — interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
From this reading Then he paused.
with speed
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he paused.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Are you there, anybody?"
a special situation
From this reading "That's the kind of thing I mean," he said aloud.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The town was a small one, and Malone was glad to get out of it so quickly.
an affirmative
From this reading He imagined he heard Luba's voice saying: _Yes, Ken.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you there, anybody?"
Chapter 15 of Occasion ... for Disaster by Randall Garrett holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 15 holds 403 sentences of Occasion ... for Disaster, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Occasion ... for Disaster by Randall Garrett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 15 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 Occasion ... for Disaster by Randall Garrett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6068 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30434 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30434, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 505 minutes of reading across 1214 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Occasion ... for Disaster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Occasion ... for Disaster 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 Occasion ... for Disaster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
