Chapter 1 of Tarrano the Conqueror is here in full — 251 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tarrano the Conqueror is here in full — 251 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me. Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded. It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed. _Jac Hallen, Inter-Allied News_. Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
Chapter 1 of Tarrano the Conqueror is here in full — 251 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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 “airway” — a duct that provides ventilation (as in mines)
From this reading “Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.”
past form of “code” — attach a code to
From this reading “Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.”
past form of “decode” — convert code into ordinary language
From this reading “It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.”
of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country
From this reading “Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.”
to, toward, or in the northeast
From this reading “Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.”
having official authority or sanction
From this reading “It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.”
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading “It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.”
established irrevocably
From this reading “It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.”
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 It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
plural of “airway” — a duct that provides ventilation (as in mines)
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
past form of “code” — attach a code to
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
past form of “decode” — convert code into ordinary language
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Jac Hallen, Inter-Allied News_.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Jac Hallen, Inter-Allied News_.
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Jac Hallen, Inter-Allied News_.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
a person who carries a message
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
information about recent and important events
From this reading _Jac Hallen, Inter-Allied News_.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
to, toward, or in the northeast
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
according to the clock
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
having official authority or sanction
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
on one occasion
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
a judge of a probate court
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
past form of “print” — put into print
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
established irrevocably
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
refrain from harming
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Not through the ordinary open airways, but in the National Length, and coded.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It came to my desk by official messenger, decoded, printed and sealed.
at the time that
From this reading It must have been nearly nine o'clock when a personal message came for me.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Come to me, North-east Island at once, if they can spare you.
Chapter 1 of Tarrano the Conqueror by Ray Cummings holds 251 sentences, grouped into 51 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 251 sentences of Tarrano the Conqueror, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tarrano the Conqueror by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 251 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 Tarrano the Conqueror by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5519 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21638 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21638, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 459 minutes of reading across 1104 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tarrano the Conqueror section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of Tarrano the Conqueror 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 Tarrano the Conqueror, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
