Chapter 1 of Planet in Reverse is here in full — 645 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Planet in Reverse is here in full — 645 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact. Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!" Communication with Earth was out. Completely. Radio deader than a vacuum.
Chapter 1 of Planet in Reverse is here in full — 645 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/129 · 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.
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading “Communication with Earth was out.”
comparative of “dead” — no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “Radio deader than a vacuum.”
expel (gases or odors)
From this reading “Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"”
in a helpless manner
From this reading “Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"”
in utter disorder
From this reading “On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.”
medium for communication
From this reading “Radio deader than a vacuum.”
inflected form of “sob” — weep convulsively
From this reading “Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"”
the absence of matter
From this reading “Radio deader than a vacuum.”
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 On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information
From this reading Communication with Earth was out.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading Completely.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
comparative of “dead” — no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Radio deader than a vacuum.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Communication with Earth was out.
a quad with a square body
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
expel (gases or odors)
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
in a helpless manner
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
in an insane manner
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
in utter disorder
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
and nothing more
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
medium for communication
From this reading Radio deader than a vacuum.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
inflected form of “sob” — weep convulsively
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
characterized by good substantial quality
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Radio deader than a vacuum.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
the absence of matter
From this reading Radio deader than a vacuum.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Communication with Earth was out.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading On that insanely jumbled world, their love was a solid fact.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet he could only stare helplessly as she sobbed out on his shoulder, "Dleif emit desrever senutpen morf em evas!"
Chapter 1 of Planet in Reverse by Henry Guth holds 645 sentences, grouped into 129 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 645 sentences of Planet in Reverse, unabridged, divided into 129 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Planet in Reverse by Henry Guth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 645 sentences, grouped into 129 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 129 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 129 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 Planet in Reverse by Henry Guth 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 Planet in Reverse section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Planet in Reverse 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 Planet in Reverse, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
