Chapter 8 of Planet of the Damned is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Planet of the Damned is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"But Hys is in charge of an army now?" "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money. Too little and too damned late to do any good. I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough. And for this we get called butchers."
Chapter 8 of Planet of the Damned is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 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.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading “"But Hys is in charge of an army now?"”
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading “I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.”
plural of “butcher” — a retailer of meat
From this reading “And for this we get called butchers."”
to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading “"But Hys is in charge of an army now?"”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Too little and too damned late to do any good.”
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading “Too little and too damned late to do any good.”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading “"All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.”
plural of “volunteer” — (military) a person who freely enlists for service
From this reading “"All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Too little and too damned late to do any good.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
plural of “butcher” — a retailer of meat
From this reading And for this we get called butchers."
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading And for this we get called butchers."
to make a rush at or sudden attack upon, as in battle
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Too little and too damned late to do any good.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Too little and too damned late to do any good.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And for this we get called butchers."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading And for this we get called butchers."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Too little and too damned late to do any good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Too little and too damned late to do any good.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "But Hys is in charge of an army now?"
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
express in words
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And for this we get called butchers."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Too little and too damned late to do any good.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
plural of “volunteer” — (military) a person who freely enlists for service
From this reading "All volunteers, too few of them and too little money.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I'll tell you we did our best, but it could never be good enough.
Chapter 8 of Planet of the Damned by Harry Harrison holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 8 holds 421 sentences of Planet of the Damned, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Planet of the Damned by Harry Harrison exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 8 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 of the Damned by Harry Harrison on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4650 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21873 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21873, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 387 minutes of reading across 930 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Planet of the Damned section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Planet of the Damned 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 of the Damned, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
