Chapter 1 of The Mercurian is here in full — 329 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mercurian is here in full — 329 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell. Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned! We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out. Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches. I was new at it.
Chapter 1 of The Mercurian is here in full — 329 sentences across 66 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/65 · 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.
a chamber that provides access to space where air is under pressure
From this reading “We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.”
United States novelist who wrote about a young Black man and his struggles in American society (1914-1994)
From this reading “Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.”
bearing or marked with a label or tag
From this reading “For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.”
reduced to liquid form by heating
From this reading “Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!”
a station in a remote or sparsely populated location
From this reading “For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.”
in constant agitation
From this reading “For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.”
past form of “spawn” — call forth
From this reading “Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!”
plural of “switch” — control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit
From this reading “Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.”
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.
In this reading “Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!”
a man who is very old
In this reading “We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.”
In this reading “We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.”
move out of or depart from
In this reading “We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.”
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 ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
plural of “age” — how long something has existed
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
a chamber that provides access to space where air is under pressure
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I was new at it.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
United States novelist who wrote about a young Black man and his struggles in American society (1914-1994)
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
plutonic igneous rock having visibly crystalline texture; generally composed of feldspar and mica and quartz
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I was new at it.
and nothing more
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
bearing or marked with a label or tag
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
a boy or man
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
reduced to liquid form by heating
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading I was new at it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
a station in a remote or sparsely populated location
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
having strong sexual appeal
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
in constant agitation
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
past form of “spawn” — call forth
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
filled with steam or emitting moisture in the form of vapor or mist
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
plural of “switch” — control consisting of a mechanical or electrical or electronic device for making or breaking or changing the connections in a circuit
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
inflected form of “throw” — propel through the air
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Too late Rawley learned of the hideous life that molten, steaming planet spawned!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We stood before the airlock, the old man and I, and watched them go out.
which person or people
From this reading Ellison was a granite man and I was just the lad who threw the switches.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading For ages Mankind labelled Mercury a dead world--a red-hot, seething outpost of hell.
Chapter 1 of The Mercurian by Frank Belknap Long holds 329 sentences, grouped into 66 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 329 sentences of The Mercurian, unabridged, divided into 66 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mercurian by Frank Belknap Long exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 329 sentences, grouped into 66 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 66 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 66 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 Mercurian by Frank Belknap Long on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 329 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62034 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62034, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 27 minutes of reading across 66 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mercurian section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Mercurian 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 Mercurian, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
