Chapter 9 of The Fire People is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Fire People is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FUTILE ATTACKS. There seemed to be no pursuit. In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert. I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded. Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
Chapter 9 of The Fire People is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 “attack” — (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading “FUTILE ATTACKS.”
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading “In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.”
producing no result or effect
From this reading “FUTILE ATTACKS.”
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading “Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.”
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading “I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.”
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading “There seemed to be no pursuit.”
past form of “slow” — lose velocity; move more slowly
From this reading “I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.”
breathing laboriously or convulsively
From this reading “I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.”
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 In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
plural of “attack” — (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
From this reading FUTILE ATTACKS.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There seemed to be no pursuit.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
rid of obstructions
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
producing no result or effect
From this reading FUTILE ATTACKS.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
not accessible to view
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
plural of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
not any; not one
From this reading There seemed to be no pursuit.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
by chance
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading There seemed to be no pursuit.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading There seemed to be no pursuit.
past form of “slow” — lose velocity; move more slowly
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There seemed to be no pursuit.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading There seemed to be no pursuit.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading Turning, I could see behind me the lights of the camp.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In a few moments I was clear of the camp and hidden in the darkness of the desert.
breathing laboriously or convulsively
From this reading I ran perhaps half a mile, then I slowed down to a walk, completely winded.
Chapter 9 of The Fire People by Ray Cummings holds 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 9 holds 110 sentences of The Fire People, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Fire People by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 9 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 People by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4561 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25780 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25780, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 380 minutes of reading across 913 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fire People section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of The Fire People 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 People, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
