Chapter 9 of The atom curtain is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The atom curtain is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A Son's hand touched him. He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone. "O'Hara, stop! Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it. You have a mind--you must use it."
Chapter 9 of The atom curtain is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
From this reading “He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.”
joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
From this reading “He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.”
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading “He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.”
having no hair or fur
From this reading “He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.”
United States writer (1905-1970)
From this reading “"O'Hara, stop!”
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading “A Son's hand touched him.”
covered with bright patches (often used in combination)
From this reading “He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.”
past form of “whirl” — turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading “He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.”
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.
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 Son's hand touched him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
the soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
having no hair or fur
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading A Son's hand touched him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have a mind--you must use it."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A Son's hand touched him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading You have a mind--you must use it."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading You have a mind--you must use it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
United States writer (1905-1970)
From this reading "O'Hara, stop!
possessive form of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading A Son's hand touched him.
covered with bright patches (often used in combination)
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading "O'Hara, stop!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
having come into contact
From this reading A Son's hand touched him.
except if; if not
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
the act of using
From this reading You have a mind--you must use it."
past form of “whirl” — turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading He whirled and drove his fist into the hairless face, exulting in the splattered flesh and bone.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Nedra will not die and does not wish to die, and you yourself will not die unless you wish it.
Chapter 9 of The atom curtain by Nick B. (Nick Boddie) Williams holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 9 holds 405 sentences of The atom curtain, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The atom curtain by Nick B. (Nick Boddie) Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 9 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 The atom curtain by Nick B. (Nick Boddie) Williams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The atom curtain section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The atom curtain 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 The atom curtain, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
