Chapter 1 of Prison of a Billion Years is here in full — 285 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Prison of a Billion Years is here in full — 285 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it. The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe. No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important. The guard was dead. That was important.
Chapter 1 of Prison of a Billion Years is here in full — 285 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading “Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.”
treated so as to have a permanently wrinkled appearance
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
possessive form of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
From this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
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 “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
In this reading “The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.”
In this reading “Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.”
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 Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
(Old Testament) in Judeo-Christian mythology; the first man and the husband of Eve and the progenitor of the human race
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
terminate
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
treated so as to have a permanently wrinkled appearance
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading The guard was dead.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
at any time
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading The guard was dead.
possessive form of “guard” — a person who keeps watch over something or someone
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
of great significance or value
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
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 The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
not any; not one
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
a source of difficulty
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
in or at the place that
From this reading No one ever knew where Slade got the iron pipe, but it did not seem so important.
which person or people
From this reading Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the-- Adam Slade crushed the guard's skull with a two foot length of iron pipe.
Chapter 1 of Prison of a Billion Years by Stephen Marlowe holds 285 sentences, grouped into 57 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 285 sentences of Prison of a Billion Years, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Prison of a Billion Years by Stephen Marlowe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 285 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 Prison of a Billion Years by Stephen Marlowe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 285 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32150 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32150, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 23 minutes of reading across 57 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Prison of a Billion Years section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Prison of a Billion Years 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 Prison of a Billion Years, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
