Chapter 4 of On the Trail of the Space Pirates is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of On the Trail of the Space Pirates is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief. It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom. "Attention, please! Attention, please! The exhibit is now closing for the night.
Chapter 4 of On the Trail of the Space Pirates is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
being or relating to or resembling or emanating from stars
From this reading “Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “The exhibit is now closing for the night.”
power to direct or determine
From this reading “Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.”
show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill
From this reading “The exhibit is now closing for the night.”
a communication system linking different rooms within a building or ship etc
From this reading “It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading “It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.”
the brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
being or relating to or resembling or emanating from stars
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading "Attention, please!
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
an accurate clock (especially used in navigation)
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
the act of closing something
From this reading The exhibit is now closing for the night.
power to direct or determine
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill
From this reading The exhibit is now closing for the night.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The exhibit is now closing for the night.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
a communication system linking different rooms within a building or ship etc
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The exhibit is now closing for the night.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The exhibit is now closing for the night.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The exhibit is now closing for the night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
above and across; more than
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading "Attention, please!
the brightest star in Ursa Minor; at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper; the northern axis of the earth points toward it
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
male cat
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was nine P.M. He turned to the intercom.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Tom glanced at the astral chronometer over the control board of the _Polaris_ and sighed with relief.
Chapter 4 of On the Trail of the Space Pirates by Carey Rockwell holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 170 sentences of On the Trail of the Space Pirates, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of On the Trail of the Space Pirates by Carey Rockwell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 On the Trail of the Space Pirates by Carey Rockwell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21092 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21092, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 367 minutes of reading across 883 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through On the Trail of the Space Pirates section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of On the Trail of the Space Pirates 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 On the Trail of the Space Pirates, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
