Chapter 1 of Search the Sky is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Search the Sky is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC. 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y. DECAY. Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind. Decay.
Chapter 1 of Search the Sky is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
inflected form of “bob” — move up and down repeatedly
From this reading “Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.”
the process of gradually becoming inferior
From this reading “DECAY.”
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading “404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.”
a heterogeneous collection of groups united in their opposition to Saddam Hussein's government of Iraq; formed in 1992 it is comprised of Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Kurds who hope to build a new government
From this reading “By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.”
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading “Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.”
an inclined surface connecting two levels
From this reading “Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.”
Scottish explorer who led Arctic expeditions that yielded geographic discoveries while searching for the Northwest Passage (1777-1856)
From this reading “Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.”
plural of “trader” — someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold
From this reading “Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.”
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 “Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
a line of approach
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
inflected form of “bob” — move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
Bound written or printed works.
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
the process of gradually becoming inferior
From this reading DECAY.
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
a heterogeneous collection of groups united in their opposition to Saddam Hussein's government of Iraq; formed in 1992 it is comprised of Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Kurds who hope to build a new government
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
used of a height or viewpoint
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth BALLANTINE BOOKS, INC.
an inclined surface connecting two levels
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
Scottish explorer who led Arctic expeditions that yielded geographic discoveries while searching for the Northwest Passage (1777-1856)
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
the upper part of anything
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
plural of “trader” — someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
a silvery metallic element that is common in rare-earth minerals; used in magnesium and aluminum alloys
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
plural of “yard” — a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading Ross stood on the traders’ ramp, overlooking the Yards, and the word kept bobbing to the top of his mind.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading 404 Fifth Avenue, New York 18, N. Y.
Chapter 1 of Search the Sky by Frederik Pohl holds 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 439 sentences of Search the Sky, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Search the Sky by Frederik Pohl exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 Search the Sky by Frederik Pohl on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4770 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52228 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52228, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 397 minutes of reading across 954 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Search the Sky section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Search the Sky 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 Search the Sky, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
