Chapter 1 of The Fire and the Sword is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Fire and the Sword is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet. Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there? Yet it made sense. _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk. The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
Chapter 1 of The Fire and the Sword is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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.
an increase in rate of change
From this reading “_Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.”
a long trough for feeding cattle
From this reading “_Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.”
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading “_Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.”
made dim or less bright
From this reading “The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.”
-ing form of “near” — move towards
From this reading “The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.”
the act of killing yourself
From this reading “Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?”
a departure; especially of airplanes
From this reading “The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.”
past form of “tighten” — make tight or tighter
From this reading “_Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.”
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.
kill oneself
In this reading “_Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.”
In this reading “The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.”
In this reading “_Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.”
In this reading “The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.”
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 why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
an increase in rate of change
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
a long trough for feeding cattle
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
made dim or less bright
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
an alert and refreshed state
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Yet it made sense.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Yet it made sense.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
-ing form of “near” — move towards
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
the state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
a general conscious awareness
From this reading Yet it made sense.
the act of killing yourself
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
a departure; especially of airplanes
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Nothing could have seemed pleasanter than that peaceful planet.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
in or at that place or location
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
past form of “tighten” — make tight or tighter
From this reading _Why do people commit suicide?_ Templin tightened his safety belt and lay back on the acceleration bunk.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The lights in the cabin dimmed to a dull, red glow that meant the time for takeoff was nearing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Then why was a non-suicidal man driven to suicide there?
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet it made sense.
Chapter 1 of The Fire and the Sword by Frank M. Robinson holds 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 480 sentences of The Fire and the Sword, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Fire and the Sword by Frank M. Robinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 Fire and the Sword by Frank M. Robinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 947 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51170 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51170, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 78 minutes of reading across 190 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fire and the Sword section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Fire and the Sword 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 Fire and the Sword, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
