Chapter 1 of The Guardians is here in full — 497 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Guardians is here in full — 497 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BY IRVING COX, JR. _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!" Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!" And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist. For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
Chapter 1 of The Guardians is here in full — 497 sentences across 100 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/99 · 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.
European food fish
From this reading “And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.”
either of two related enzymes that control the production of prostaglandins and are blocked by aspirin
From this reading “BY IRVING COX, JR.”
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading “And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.”
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading “And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.”
United States writer remembered for his stories (1783-1859)
From this reading “BY IRVING COX, JR.”
become covered with mist
From this reading “And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.”
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading “And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.”
plural of “taboo” — a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature
From this reading “For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.”
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 For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
past form of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
European food fish
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY IRVING COX, JR.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
either of two related enzymes that control the production of prostaglandins and are blocked by aspirin
From this reading BY IRVING COX, JR.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!"
a god of fertility and vegetation
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
grant freedom to; free from confinement
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
United States writer remembered for his stories (1783-1859)
From this reading BY IRVING COX, JR.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading BY IRVING COX, JR.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
become covered with mist
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!"
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!"
plural of “taboo” — a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And that can be dangerous!_ Mryna Brill intended to ride the god-car above the rain mist.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For a long time she had not believed in the taboos or the Earth-god.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!"
a fact that has been verified
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Sometimes it's "Want of the Truth shall drive you to escape!"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _It's not always "The Truth shall set you free!"
Chapter 1 of The Guardians by Irving E., Jr. Cox holds 497 sentences, grouped into 100 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 497 sentences of The Guardians, unabridged, divided into 100 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Guardians by Irving E., Jr. Cox exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 497 sentences, grouped into 100 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 100 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 100 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 Guardians by Irving E., Jr. Cox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 497 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24152 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24152, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 41 minutes of reading across 100 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Guardians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Guardians 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 Guardians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
