Chapter 21 of The Metal Monster is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Metal Monster is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Wearily I opened my eyes. Stiffly, painfully, I stirred. High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields. But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night. Night?
Chapter 21 of The Metal Monster is here in full — 210 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
the act of consuming food
From this reading “High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.”
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading “But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.”
plural of “host” — a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading “High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.”
unpleasantly
From this reading “Stiffly, painfully, I stirred.”
shaped like a ring
From this reading “High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.”
plural of “shield” — a protective covering or structure
From this reading “High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.”
in a stiff manner
From this reading “Stiffly, painfully, I stirred.”
in a weary manner
From this reading “Wearily I opened my eyes.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Wearily I opened my eyes.
the act of consuming food
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
a flash of light (especially reflected light)
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
plural of “host” — a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Wearily I opened my eyes.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Wearily I opened my eyes.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Wearily I opened my eyes.
unpleasantly
From this reading Stiffly, painfully, I stirred.
shaped like a ring
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
plural of “shield” — a protective covering or structure
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
in a stiff manner
From this reading Stiffly, painfully, I stirred.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Stiffly, painfully, I stirred.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
in a weak or pale or languid manner
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
in a weary manner
From this reading Wearily I opened my eyes.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But the shields were now wanly gleaming and the sky was the sky of night.
in the company of; together with
From this reading High above me was the tremendous circle of sky, ringed with the hosts of feeding shields.
Chapter 21 of The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt holds 210 sentences, grouped into 42 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 21 holds 210 sentences of The Metal Monster, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 210 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 21 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 Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5735 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3479 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3479, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 477 minutes of reading across 1147 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Metal Monster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of The Metal Monster 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 Metal Monster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
