Chapter 2 of People Minus X 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 II
Chapter 2 of People Minus X is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Eddie was dazed. Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then. Events moved too fast. There was too much to be done. A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
Chapter 2 of People Minus X 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.
protective covering made of metal and used in combat
From this reading “A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.”
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading “Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “Eddie was dazed.”
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading “Events moved too fast.”
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “Events moved too fast.”
denoting a quantity consisting of six items or units
From this reading “A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “Events moved too fast.”
energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles
From this reading “A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.”
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.
obtain, especially accidentally
In this reading “A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.”
In this reading “A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.”
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 half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
protective covering made of metal and used in combat
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There was too much to be done.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading Eddie was dazed.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading There was too much to be done.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eddie was dazed.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading Events moved too fast.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading Events moved too fast.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
denoting a quantity consisting of six items or units
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Events moved too fast.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading There was too much to be done.
not any; not one
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A half-dozen people in radiation armor came into the house.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was too much to be done.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Child-grief or man-grief had no chance to come to him then.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Events moved too fast.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Eddie was dazed.
Chapter 2 of People Minus X by Raymond Z. (Raymond Zinke) Gallun 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 2 holds 403 sentences of People Minus X, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of People Minus X by Raymond Z. (Raymond Zinke) Gallun 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 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 People Minus X by Raymond Z. (Raymond Zinke) Gallun on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4431 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50063 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50063, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 369 minutes of reading across 887 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through People Minus X section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of People Minus X 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 People Minus X, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
