Chapter 23 of Project Daedalus is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Project Daedalus is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Cut off his oxygen. Don't let him breathe. The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission. He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air. A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
Chapter 23 of Project Daedalus is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
plural of “move” — the act of deciding to do something
From this reading “The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.”
a contestant that you are matched against
From this reading “The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.”
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “Cut off his oxygen.”
plural of “shortcut” — a route shorter than the usual one
From this reading “The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.”
become slow or slower
From this reading “A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.”
something (manuscripts or architectural plans and models or estimates or works of art of all genres etc.) submitted for the judgment of others (as in a competition)
From this reading “The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.”
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading “He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.”
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.
make a break in
In this reading “Cut off his oxygen.”
undergo or live through a difficult experience
In this reading “A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.”
hold firmly
In this reading “A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.”
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 The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading Don't let him breathe.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
stopped up; clogged up
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Cut off his oxygen.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Don't let him breathe.
opinion or judgment
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Don't let him breathe.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Cut off his oxygen.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Don't let him breathe.
property that is leased or rented out or let
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
plural of “move” — the act of deciding to do something
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Cut off his oxygen.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
a contestant that you are matched against
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading Cut off his oxygen.
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
compacted by ironing
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
plural of “shortcut” — a route shorter than the usual one
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
the act of closing something
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
become slow or slower
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
something (manuscripts or architectural plans and models or estimates or works of art of all genres etc.) submitted for the judgment of others (as in a competition)
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A look of surprise went through the _kobun's_ eyes as he choked, letting his hold on Vance's shoulders slacken.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
membranous tube with cartilaginous rings that conveys inhaled air from the larynx to the bronchi
From this reading He pressed a thumb against the man's windpipe, shutting off his air.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The old moves were coming back, the shortcuts that would bring a more powerful opponent to submission.
Chapter 23 of Project Daedalus by Thomas Hoover holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 23 holds 414 sentences of Project Daedalus, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Project Daedalus by Thomas Hoover exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 23 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 Project Daedalus by Thomas Hoover on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 12245 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34320 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34320, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2449 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Project Daedalus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Project Daedalus 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 Project Daedalus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
