Chapter 7 of The Onslaught from Rigel is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Onslaught from Rigel is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him. "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp. "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently. "But are you? You're all blue!"
Chapter 7 of The Onslaught from Rigel is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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 native or inhabitant of Australia
From this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
to travel for the purpose of discovery
From this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading “"Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.”
inflected form of “kid” — tell false information to for fun
From this reading “"If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.”
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
possessive form of “somebody” — a human being
From this reading “"If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.”
made steady or constant
From this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
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 “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
In this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
In this reading “An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.”
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 An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
(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 You're all blue!"
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
a native or inhabitant of Australia
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading You're all blue!"
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But are you?
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
to travel for the purpose of discovery
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
brought together in one place
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
in an incredulous manner
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
without respect
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
inflected form of “kid” — tell false information to for fun
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
possessive form of “moment” — a particular point in time
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
possessive form of “somebody” — a human being
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
made steady or constant
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
in or at that place or location
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An Exploration There was a moment's silence as the Australian captain steadied himself against the roll of the vessel, staring incredulously at the group that gathered round him.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you--human?" he finally managed to gasp.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're all blue!"
Chapter 7 of The Onslaught from Rigel by Fletcher Pratt holds 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 7 holds 209 sentences of The Onslaught from Rigel, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Onslaught from Rigel by Fletcher Pratt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 209 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 7 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 Onslaught from Rigel by Fletcher Pratt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4403 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41049 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41049, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 366 minutes of reading across 881 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Onslaught from Rigel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Onslaught from Rigel 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 Onslaught from Rigel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
