Chapter 2 of The Destroyers is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Destroyers is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Anketam's grin was hard. "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they? Haven't they?" Jacovik nodded. "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
Chapter 2 of The Destroyers is here in full — 431 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 “chief” — a person who is in charge
From this reading “"And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.”
plural of “farmer” — a person who operates a farm
From this reading “"And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “Anketam's grin was hard.”
have in mind as a purpose
From this reading “"Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?”
plural of “invader” — someone who enters by force in order to conquer
From this reading “"Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “Jacovik nodded.”
the state of being free from danger or injury
From this reading “"And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.”
hit hard
From this reading “"Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Anketam's grin was hard.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
terminate
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
plural of “chief” — a person who is in charge
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
plural of “farmer” — a person who operates a farm
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
a powerful effect or influence
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading Anketam's grin was hard.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Anketam's grin was hard.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
have in mind as a purpose
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
plural of “invader” — someone who enters by force in order to conquer
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jacovik nodded.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading Jacovik nodded.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
the state of being free from danger or injury
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
hit hard
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
carry out
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Anketam's grin was hard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading "Look, Jac; the invaders have said that they intend to smash our whole society, haven't they?
past form of “work” — exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "And they want to break up the baronies--take everything away from the Chiefs--force us farmers to give up the security we've worked all our lives for.
Chapter 2 of The Destroyers by Randall Garrett holds 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 431 sentences of The Destroyers, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Destroyers by Randall Garrett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 431 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 Destroyers by Randall Garrett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 868 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24166 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24166, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 72 minutes of reading across 174 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Destroyers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Destroyers 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 Destroyers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
