Chapter 2 of The Crystal Circe is here in full — 503 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Crystal Circe is here in full — 503 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
O'Brien was gone. Tex Hastings was gone. Two space-suits had vanished from their racks. Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask. He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
Chapter 2 of The Crystal Circe is here in full — 503 sentences across 101 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/100 · 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.
United States architect who formed and important architectural firm with John Merven Carrere (1860-1929)
From this reading “Tex Hastings was gone.”
hide under a false appearance
From this reading “Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.”
Irish writer (born in 1932)
From this reading “O'Brien was gone.”
plural of “rack” — framework for holding objects
From this reading “Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.”
having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented
From this reading “Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.”
having passed out of existence
From this reading “Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.”
a vivid mental image
From this reading “He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.”
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 Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
destroyed or killed
From this reading O'Brien was gone.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
United States architect who formed and important architectural firm with John Merven Carrere (1860-1929)
From this reading Tex Hastings was gone.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
hide under a false appearance
From this reading Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
Irish writer (born in 1932)
From this reading O'Brien was gone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
plural of “rack” — framework for holding objects
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tex Hastings was gone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented
From this reading Arnsen's face twisted into a savage mask.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
having passed out of existence
From this reading Two space-suits had vanished from their racks.
a vivid mental image
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading O'Brien was gone.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading He knew, now, what had been so wrong about his vision of the night.
Chapter 2 of The Crystal Circe by Henry Kuttner holds 503 sentences, grouped into 101 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 2 holds 503 sentences of The Crystal Circe, unabridged, divided into 101 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Crystal Circe by Henry Kuttner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 503 sentences, grouped into 101 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 101 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 101 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 2 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 Crystal Circe by Henry Kuttner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1012 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #68726 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #68726, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 84 minutes of reading across 203 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Crystal Circe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Crystal Circe 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 Crystal Circe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
