Chapter 4 of The man on the meteor is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The man on the meteor is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion. The radiant light from the rocks was soft. Here all was quiet and peace. At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm. For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
Chapter 4 of The man on the meteor is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading “At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.”
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading “At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.”
use of physical or mental energy; hard work
From this reading “Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.”
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.”
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading “The radiant light from the rocks was soft.”
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading “For a time, as before she stood regarding me.”
act of expanding by lengthening or widening
From this reading “At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.”
device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room
From this reading “Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.”
In this reading “Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.”
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 time, as before she stood regarding me.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
(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 Here all was quiet and peace.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
for the reason that
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
an upholstered seat for more than one person
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
use of physical or mental energy; hard work
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
having the pinkish flush of health
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here all was quiet and peace.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The radiant light from the rocks was soft.
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
on one occasion
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading Here all was quiet and peace.
by chance
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading Here all was quiet and peace.
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading The radiant light from the rocks was soft.
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
plural of “rock” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading The radiant light from the rocks was soft.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading The radiant light from the rocks was soft.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
act of expanding by lengthening or widening
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For a time, as before she stood regarding me.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading At once I threw myself upon Nona’s couch, stretching my limbs, head pillowed upon my crooked arm.
device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading Within the cave the air seemed warmer than before, perhaps because I was flushed and tired from my exertion.
Chapter 4 of The man on the meteor by Ray Cummings holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 4 holds 127 sentences of The man on the meteor, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The man on the meteor by Ray Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 4 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 man on the meteor by Ray Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The man on the meteor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The man on the meteor 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 man on the meteor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
