Chapter 13 of Peril of the Starmen is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of Peril of the Starmen is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Herb had regained consciousness. Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch. The room roared with the explosion. George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet. Incredibly, he had been hit!
Chapter 13 of Peril of the Starmen is here in full — 180 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction
From this reading “The room roared with the explosion.”
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
From this reading “Herb had regained consciousness.”
not easy to believe
From this reading “Incredibly, he had been hit!”
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading “George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.”
one of the rulers in an oligarchy
From this reading “Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.”
past form of “regain” — get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading “Herb had regained consciousness.”
in a vicious manner
From this reading “George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.”
inflected form of “slap” — hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading “George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.”
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.
In this reading “Herb had regained consciousness.”
In this reading “Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.”
In this reading “George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.”
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 Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Incredibly, he had been hit!
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself and your situation
From this reading Herb had regained consciousness.
a violent release of energy caused by a chemical or nuclear reaction
From this reading The room roared with the explosion.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Herb had regained consciousness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Incredibly, he had been hit!
a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
From this reading Herb had regained consciousness.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
cause to move by striking
From this reading Incredibly, he had been hit!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
not easy to believe
From this reading Incredibly, he had been hit!
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
one of the rulers in an oligarchy
From this reading Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
past form of “regain” — get or find back; recover the use of
From this reading Herb had regained consciousness.
past form of “roar” — make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading The room roared with the explosion.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading The room roared with the explosion.
in a vicious manner
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
inflected form of “slap” — hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading George jerked back, and in mid-motion, something caught him low in his chest, on the left side of his body and slapped him savagely off his feet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
in the direction of
From this reading Herb shot, and flame leaped toward the Oligarch.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The room roared with the explosion.
Chapter 13 of Peril of the Starmen by Kris Neville holds 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 13 holds 180 sentences of Peril of the Starmen, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of Peril of the Starmen by Kris Neville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 180 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 13 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 Peril of the Starmen by Kris Neville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Peril of the Starmen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Peril of the Starmen 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 Peril of the Starmen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
