Chapter 1 of Second Childhood is here in full — 543 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Second Childhood is here in full — 543 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Achieving immortality is only half of the problem. The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable! You did not die. There was no normal way to die. You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
Chapter 1 of Second Childhood is here in full — 543 sentences across 109 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/108 · 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.
without advance planning
From this reading “You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.”
-ing form of “achieve” — to gain with effort
From this reading “Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.”
without care or concern
From this reading “You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.”
the quality or state of being immortal
From this reading “Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.”
impossible to avoid or evade
From this reading “The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!”
conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
From this reading “There was no normal way to die.”
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.”
in a reckless manner
From this reading “You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.”
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 “Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.”
tolerate or accommodate oneself to
In this reading “The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!”
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.
without advance planning
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
-ing form of “achieve” — to gain with effort
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
without care or concern
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading You did not die.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading You did not die.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
the quality or state of being immortal
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
impossible to avoid or evade
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
past form of “kill” — cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
evidencing the possession of inside information
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
occurring by chance
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
not any; not one
From this reading There was no normal way to die.
conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
From this reading There was no normal way to die.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You did not die.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
on one occasion
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
and nothing more
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
capable of happening or existing
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
in a reckless manner
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Achieving immortality is only half of the problem.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no normal way to die.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no normal way to die.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading There was no normal way to die.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The other half is knowing how to live with it once it's been made possible--and inescapable!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading You lived as carelessly and as recklessly as you could and you hoped that you would be lucky and be accidentally killed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You did not die.
Chapter 1 of Second Childhood by Clifford D. Simak holds 543 sentences, grouped into 109 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 543 sentences of Second Childhood, unabridged, divided into 109 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Second Childhood by Clifford D. Simak exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 543 sentences, grouped into 109 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 109 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 109 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 Second Childhood by Clifford D. Simak on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51037 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51037, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 45 minutes of reading across 109 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Second Childhood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Second Childhood 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 Second Childhood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
