Chapter 1 of One Against the Stars is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of One Against the Stars is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague. A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus. And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death. This was it. Its slim bright shape was Earth's last hope.
Chapter 1 of One Against the Stars is here in full — 436 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading “And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.”
possessive form of “earth” — the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading “Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.”
cause to suffer a blight
From this reading “Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.”
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading “A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.”
so extremely intense as to evoke screams
From this reading “And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.”
Constituting number thirteen in a sequence.
From this reading “And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.”
the second nearest planet to the sun
From this reading “A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.”
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 A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Its slim bright shape was Earth's last hope.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
possessive form of “earth” — the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
not accessible to view
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading This was it.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Its slim bright shape was Earth's last hope.
immediately past
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
cause to suffer a blight
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
the sport of engaging in contests of speed
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
(theology) the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
so extremely intense as to evoke screams
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline)
From this reading Its slim bright shape was Earth's last hope.
transport commercially
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading Its slim bright shape was Earth's last hope.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
Constituting number thirteen in a sequence.
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was it.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
the second nearest planet to the sun
From this reading A gleaming ship racing to bring salvation back from Venus.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading Earth's last hope against the vicious radio-plague.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was it.
belonging to which person
From this reading And hidden on the ship a thirteenth man--a plague carrier whose touch brought screaming death.
Chapter 1 of One Against the Stars by Bill Garson holds 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 436 sentences of One Against the Stars, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of One Against the Stars by Bill Garson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 436 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 One Against the Stars by Bill Garson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63032 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63032, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 71 minutes of reading across 172 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through One Against the Stars section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of One Against the Stars 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 One Against the Stars, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
