Chapter 2 of One Against the Stars is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of One Against the Stars is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Arlie," Bairn said softly. "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?" Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?" Bairn had no answer. * * * * * Joe Wilding was restless.
Chapter 2 of One Against the Stars is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
lacking warmth of feeling; in a cold, unemotional manner
From this reading “Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"”
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “"Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"”
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading “"Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"”
worried and uneasy
From this reading “* * * * * Joe Wilding was restless.”
transport commercially
From this reading “Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"”
with low volume
From this reading “"Arlie," Bairn said softly.”
past form of “stow” — fill by packing tightly
From this reading “Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"”
a wild uncultivated plant (especially a wild apple or crabapple tree)
From this reading “"Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"”
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.
hide aboard a ship or a plane to get free transportation
In this reading “Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
react verbally
From this reading Bairn had no answer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Arlie," Bairn said softly.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
a child: son or daughter
From this reading "Arlie," Bairn said softly.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
lacking warmth of feeling; in a cold, unemotional manner
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Bairn had no answer.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
not any; not one
From this reading Bairn had no answer.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
worried and uneasy
From this reading * * * * * Joe Wilding was restless.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Arlie," Bairn said softly.
transport commercially
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
with low volume
From this reading "Arlie," Bairn said softly.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
past form of “stow” — fill by packing tightly
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading * * * * * Joe Wilding was restless.
at the time that
From this reading Arden spoke coldly: "Did Wilding care about Mary when he stowed away on this ship?"
a wild uncultivated plant (especially a wild apple or crabapple tree)
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Would Mary want you to let Joe Wilding die?"
Chapter 2 of One Against the Stars by Bill Garson holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 2 holds 420 sentences of One Against the Stars, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of One Against the Stars by Bill Garson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 2 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.
