Chapter 1 of Prison Planet is here in full — 770 sentences across 154 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Prison Planet is here in full — 770 sentences across 154 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away. And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot. "Listen, Rat!" Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here. It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
Chapter 1 of Prison Planet is here in full — 770 sentences across 154 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/154 · 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.
extremely painful
From this reading “To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.”
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading “To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.”
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading “To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.”
operate an airplane
From this reading “And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.”
any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading “"Listen, Rat!"”
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading “And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.”
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading “And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.”
having the character of, or characteristic of, a traitor
From this reading “And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.”
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 “Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.”
be sufficient
In this reading “Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.”
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 And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
extremely painful
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
come to pass
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
hear with intention
From this reading "Listen, Rat!"
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
and nothing more
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
operate an airplane
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading "Listen, Rat!"
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
express in words
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
in or at that place or location
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To remain on Mars meant death from agonizing space-sickness, but Earth-surgery lay days of flight away.
having the character of, or characteristic of, a traitor
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Roberds said, "what _I_ say goes around here.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And there was only a surface rocket in which to escape--with a traitorous Ganymedean for its pilot.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading It doesn't happen to be any of your business.
Chapter 1 of Prison Planet by Wilson Tucker holds 770 sentences, grouped into 154 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 770 sentences of Prison Planet, unabridged, divided into 154 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Prison Planet by Wilson Tucker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 770 sentences, grouped into 154 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 154 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 154 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 Planet by Wilson Tucker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 770 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62212 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62212, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 64 minutes of reading across 154 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Prison Planet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Prison Planet 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 Planet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
