Chapter 1 of The comet-drivers is here in full — 520 sentences across 104 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The comet-drivers is here in full — 520 sentences across 104 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me. I nodded. "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him. "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge." Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
Chapter 1 of The comet-drivers is here in full — 520 sentences across 104 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/104 · 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.
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading “Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.”
plural of “cruiser” — a car in which policemen cruise the streets; equipped with radiotelephonic communications to headquarters
From this reading “"We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.”
possessive form of “galaxy” — a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)
From this reading “"I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."”
not admitting of penetration or passage into or through
From this reading “Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.”
possessive form of “patrol” — a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
From this reading “"We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.”
operate an airplane
From this reading “"Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.”
the brightest star in Orion
From this reading “"Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.”
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 “"I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."”
a room housing control equipment (as in a recording studio)
In this reading “"Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.”
In this reading “Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.”
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.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
next to; at the side of
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
power to direct or determine
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
plural of “cruiser” — a car in which policemen cruise the streets; equipped with radiotelephonic communications to headquarters
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
opinion or judgment
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
possessive form of “galaxy” — a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I nodded.
not admitting of penetration or passage into or through
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
and nothing more
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
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 "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading I nodded.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
having a systematic arrangement; especially having elements succeeding in order according to rule
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
possessive form of “patrol” — a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
operate an airplane
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
made known or told about; especially presented in a formal account
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
the brightest star in Orion
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
in the near future
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
having a supporting base
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
lacking natural ease
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Passing Rigel on our left, sir," reported the Canopan pilot standing in the control room beside me.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I ordered them to mass beyond Rigel, just outside the galaxy's edge."
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Together we strained our eyes into the impenetrable blackness of space that lay before us.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We'll sight the Patrol's cruisers soon, then," I told him.
Chapter 1 of The comet-drivers by Edmond Hamilton holds 520 sentences, grouped into 104 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 520 sentences of The comet-drivers, unabridged, divided into 104 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The comet-drivers by Edmond Hamilton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 520 sentences, grouped into 104 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 104 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 104 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 The comet-drivers by Edmond Hamilton 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 comet-drivers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The comet-drivers 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 comet-drivers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
