Chapter 1 of The Faces Outside is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Faces Outside is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human! I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me. But the Voice told me to call her Diane. When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me. She likes the name "Diane".
Chapter 1 of The Faces Outside is here in full — 253 sentences across 51 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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 front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading “I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.”
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading “When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.”
characteristic of humanity
From this reading “They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!”
the quality of being humane
From this reading “They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!”
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading “She likes the name "Diane".”
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading “When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.”
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading “I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.”
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 When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
(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 They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
for the reason that
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the Voice told me to call her Diane.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But the Voice told me to call her Diane.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
the quality of being humane
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
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 They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
plural of “like” — a similar kind
From this reading She likes the name "Diane".
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading She likes the name "Diane".
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading When I call her Diane, I have a pleasant feeling, and she seems closer to me.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
not in physical motion
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the Voice told me to call her Diane.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading But the Voice told me to call her Diane.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading But the Voice told me to call her Diane.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were all that was left of humanity--if they were still human!
at the time that
From this reading I wanted to call her Soft Breast, because she is soft when I hold her to me.
Chapter 1 of The Faces Outside by Bruce McAllister holds 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 253 sentences of The Faces Outside, unabridged, divided into 51 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Faces Outside by Bruce McAllister exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 253 sentences, grouped into 51 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 51 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 51 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 Faces Outside by Bruce McAllister on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 253 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61397 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61397, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 21 minutes of reading across 51 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Faces Outside section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Faces Outside 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 Faces Outside, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
