Chapter 1 of Plague of Pythons is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Plague of Pythons is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The pythons had entered into Mankind. No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed! Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school. It smelled of leather and stale sweat. He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
Chapter 1 of Plague of Pythons is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
not limited in use or function
From this reading “Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.”
possessive form of “chandler” — United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959)
From this reading “Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.”
possessive form of “defendant” — a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
From this reading “He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.”
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.”
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading “The pythons had entered into Mankind.”
past form of “smell” — inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense
From this reading “It smelled of leather and stale sweat.”
lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age
From this reading “It smelled of leather and stale sweat.”
salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
From this reading “It smelled of leather and stale sweat.”
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.
a public secondary school usually including grades 9 through 12
In this reading “Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.”
In this reading “The pythons had entered into Mankind.”
In this reading “He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.”
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.
not limited in use or function
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It smelled of leather and stale sweat.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
for the reason that
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
possessive form of “chandler” — United States writer of detective thrillers featuring the character of Philip Marlowe (1888-1959)
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
possessive form of “defendant” — a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law; the person being sued or accused
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading The pythons had entered into Mankind.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The pythons had entered into Mankind.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The pythons had entered into Mankind.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It smelled of leather and stale sweat.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning
From this reading It smelled of leather and stale sweat.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading The pythons had entered into Mankind.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
a particular point in time
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
not any; not one
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The pythons had entered into Mankind.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
an educational institution
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
past form of “smell” — inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense
From this reading It smelled of leather and stale sweat.
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
lacking freshness, palatability, or showing deterioration from age
From this reading It smelled of leather and stale sweat.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
salty fluid secreted by sweat glands
From this reading It smelled of leather and stale sweat.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The pythons had entered into Mankind.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
the act of testing something
From this reading Because of the crowd they held Chandler's trial in the all-purpose room of the high school.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading No man knew at what moment he might be Possessed!
in the company of; together with
From this reading He walked up the three steps to the stage, with the bailiff's hand on his elbow, and took his place at the defendant's table.
Chapter 1 of Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 445 sentences of Plague of Pythons, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3071 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51804 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51804, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Plague of Pythons section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Plague of Pythons 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 Plague of Pythons, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
