Chapter 1 of The Dead-Star Rover is here in full — 589 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Dead-Star Rover is here in full — 589 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge. "We'd better stop here. Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength." The girl sighed. "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
Chapter 1 of The Dead-Star Rover is here in full — 589 sentences across 118 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 97/117 · 5 reading units · Lines 481–485
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.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading “"I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."”
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading “Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.”
possessive form of “night” — the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."”
a long narrow natural elevation or striation
From this reading “Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.”
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “The girl sighed.”
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading “Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."”
in a weary manner
From this reading “Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.”
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 “Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.”
In this reading “"We'd better stop here.”
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 Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "We'd better stop here.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
a young female
From this reading The girl sighed.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "We'd better stop here.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
possessive form of “night” — the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
by chance
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
a long narrow natural elevation or striation
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading The girl sighed.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading "We'd better stop here.
the property of being physically or mentally strong
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
any of various edible North American web-footed turtles living in fresh or brackish water
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "I think we will die on this desert, terrapin."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We'd better stop here.
in a weary manner
From this reading Torcred sank wearily down in the lee of a high ridge.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Perhaps a night's sleep will give us strength."
Chapter 1 of The Dead-Star Rover by Robert Abernathy holds 589 sentences, grouped into 118 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 589 sentences of The Dead-Star Rover, unabridged, divided into 118 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Dead-Star Rover by Robert Abernathy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 589 sentences, grouped into 118 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 118 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 118 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 Dead-Star Rover by Robert Abernathy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1171 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64690 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64690, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 97 minutes of reading across 235 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dead-Star Rover section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Dead-Star Rover 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 Dead-Star Rover, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
