Chapter 17 of Stand by for Mars! is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Stand by for Mars! is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Astro! Roger!" yelled Tom. He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest. A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side. He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
Chapter 17 of Stand by for Mars! is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
an increase in rate of change
From this reading “He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.”
power to direct or determine
From this reading “A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.”
a mutual promise of a couple not to date anyone else; on college campuses it was once signaled by the giving of a fraternity pin
From this reading “A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.”
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading “He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.”
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)
From this reading “A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.”
mechanical device that attaches to a garden hose for watering lawn or garden
From this reading “He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.”
change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading “He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “Roger!" yelled Tom.”
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 A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
an increase in rate of change
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Astro!
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
the part of the human torso between the neck and the diaphragm or the corresponding part in other vertebrates
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
power to direct or determine
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
a mutual promise of a couple not to date anyone else; on college campuses it was once signaled by the giving of a fraternity pin
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
precisely, exactly
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roger!" yelled Tom.
a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical)
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
mechanical device that attaches to a garden hose for watering lawn or garden
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
not in physical motion
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A section of the control board had fallen across him pinning his left arm to his side.
male cat
From this reading Roger!" yelled Tom.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
From this reading He opened his eyes and then felt the weight on his chest.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He reached for the railing around the acceleration chair with his right and discovered he still held the switch for the water sprinkler.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading Roger!" yelled Tom.
Chapter 17 of Stand by for Mars! by Carey Rockwell holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 17 holds 185 sentences of Stand by for Mars!, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Stand by for Mars! by Carey Rockwell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 17 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 Stand by for Mars! by Carey Rockwell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4777 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19526 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19526, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 398 minutes of reading across 956 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Stand by for Mars! section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Stand by for Mars! 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 Stand by for Mars!, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
