Chapter 2 of The Friendly Killers is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Friendly Killers is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set. Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center. I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch. Locking bars whispered back. The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
Chapter 2 of The Friendly Killers is here in full — 239 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 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.
any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)
From this reading “The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.”
a straight line through a body or figure that satisfies certain conditions
From this reading “The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.”
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading “The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.”
between or among planets
From this reading “Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.”
the act of locking something up to protect it
From this reading “Locking bars whispered back.”
turned in a circle around an axis
From this reading “The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.”
inflected form of “slam” — close violently
From this reading “I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.”
a surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, consisting of a small telescope mounted on a tripod
From this reading “Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.”
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.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
a straight line through a body or figure that satisfies certain conditions
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Locking bars whispered back.
gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden rods supported on uprights
From this reading Locking bars whispered back.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
The middle point or core of an area.
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
a natural or artificial enclosed space
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
emerge from the eggs
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
between or among planets
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
the act of locking something up to protect it
From this reading Locking bars whispered back.
occurring by chance
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
turned in a circle around an axis
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
inflected form of “slam” — close violently
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading The hatch revolved on its axis, slow as an asteroid eroding.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
change over, change around, as to a new order or sequence
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
inflected form of “swear” — utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LUCKY ONES Outside the space-warp chamber, Rizal's great green sun had already set.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
a surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, consisting of a small telescope mounted on a tripod
From this reading Thick olive dusk eddied through the interplanetary transit center.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I swore under my breath and slammed shut the warp-hatch switch.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading Locking bars whispered back.
Chapter 2 of The Friendly Killers by S. M. Tenneshaw holds 239 sentences, grouped into 48 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 239 sentences of The Friendly Killers, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Friendly Killers by S. M. Tenneshaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 239 sentences, grouped into 48 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 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 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 Friendly Killers by S. M. Tenneshaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1888 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65283 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65283, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 157 minutes of reading across 378 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Friendly Killers section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Friendly Killers 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 Friendly Killers, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
