Chapter 2 of The high ones is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The high ones is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth. They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened. "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook. "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down. "That's all, I guess."
Chapter 2 of The high ones is here in full — 97 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading “"So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.”
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading “"So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.”
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading “The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.”
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading “"We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.”
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading “The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.”
an established line of travel or access
From this reading “"We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.”
the stealing of cattle
From this reading “The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.”
inflected form of “swear” — utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading “"We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.”
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.
used with question words to convey surprise
In this reading “The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.”
In this reading “They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.”
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 The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
(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 "That's all, I guess."
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading "That's all, I guess."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "That's all, I guess."
an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
From this reading "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
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 The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
an established line of travel or access
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
the stealing of cattle
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.
inflected form of “swear” — utter obscenities or profanities
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's all, I guess."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
in the direction of
From this reading They looked toward Holbrook and Grushenko, and they listened.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We, uh, took a long route home--didn't see any, uh, pursuit--" He swore at himself and sat down.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "So we got the jet aloft," finished Holbrook.
belonging to which person
From this reading The officers of the _Rurik_ sat at a long rough table, under trees whose rustling was not quite like that of any trees on Earth.
Chapter 2 of The high ones by Poul Anderson holds 97 sentences, grouped into 20 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 97 sentences of The high ones, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The high ones by Poul Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 97 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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.
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How to work through The high ones section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 high ones, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
