Chapter 3 of The Martian Circe is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Martian Circe is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back. They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor. They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them. Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful. Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
Chapter 3 of The Martian Circe is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
inflected form of “befall” — become of; happen to
From this reading “They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.”
a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
From this reading “Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.”
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading “They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.”
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading “They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.”
plural of “martian” — imaginary people who live on the planet Mars
From this reading “But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.”
any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
From this reading “They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.”
past form of “slump” — assume a drooping posture or carriage
From this reading “Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.”
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
From this reading “Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.”
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 “Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.”
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.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
(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 They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
inflected form of “befall” — become of; happen to
From this reading They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune
From this reading They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
divisible by two
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
plural of “martian” — imaginary people who live on the planet Mars
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
on one occasion
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
cut with a saw
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
past form of “slump” — assume a drooping posture or carriage
From this reading Sebours had fallen across Alayna and now he slumped slowly to the floor.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
having succeeded or being marked by a favorable outcome
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Roal saw at once that his daring shot had been successful.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They seemed to have lost all their nerve and some had even dropped their guns to the floor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But the Martians were too dumb-stricken to fight back.
in or at the place that
From this reading They all faced the table where disaster had befallen them.
Chapter 3 of The Martian Circe by Raymond F. Jones holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 3 holds 419 sentences of The Martian Circe, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Martian Circe by Raymond F. Jones exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 3 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 Martian Circe by Raymond F. Jones on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1265 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64331 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64331, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 105 minutes of reading across 253 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Martian Circe section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Martian Circe 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 Martian Circe, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
