Chapter 1 of The Disembodied Man is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Disembodied Man is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him. Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice.... _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George. You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her. I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
Chapter 1 of The Disembodied Man is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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 event consisting of the start of something
From this reading “You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.”
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading “Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....”
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading “_This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.”
in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
From this reading “_This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.”
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading “I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.”
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading “George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.”
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading “George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.”
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 didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.”
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 Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
from one side of something to the other
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
any thing at all
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
affected with madness or insanity
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
angular distance above the horizon (especially of a celestial object)
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
Christian martyr; patron saint of England; hero of the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slew a dragon and saved a princess (?-303)
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
a young female
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
and nothing more
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
Identical; not different.
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
express in words
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
in or at that place or location
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading You're just beginning to live._" _He started, tried to see her.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then there was nothing--nothing but blackness, and a voice....
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
in the company of; together with
From this reading George remembered riding on the El with the sad girl across from him.
an affirmative
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I didn't say anything!_ _"Yes you did," she insisted, in that same low voice.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _This, he thought, is a crazy way to die._ "_You're not dying, George.
Chapter 1 of The Disembodied Man by Jack Owen Jardine holds 435 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 1 holds 435 sentences of The Disembodied Man, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Disembodied Man by Jack Owen Jardine exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 435 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 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 Disembodied Man by Jack Owen Jardine on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 435 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66283 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66283, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 36 minutes of reading across 87 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Disembodied Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Disembodied Man 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 Disembodied Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
