Chapter 2 of The Prison of the Stars is here in full — 494 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Prison of the Stars is here in full — 494 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Concor shrugged in futility. "You could if you were foolish enough. There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short. The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does." Tichron was stirring.
Chapter 2 of The Prison of the Stars is here in full — 494 sentences across 99 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/98 · 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 measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
From this reading “There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.”
vulnerability to the elements; to the action of heat or cold or wind or rain
From this reading “There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.”
uselessness as a consequence of having no practical result
From this reading “Concor shrugged in futility.”
in an essential manner
From this reading “There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.”
A large hole in the ground, or an abyss of darkness and peril.
From this reading “The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."”
energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles
From this reading “The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."”
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading “Concor shrugged in futility.”
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading “Tichron was stirring.”
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 “"You could if you were foolish enough.”
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 There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Concor shrugged in futility.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "You could if you were foolish enough.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
a measured portion of medicine taken at any one time
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "You could if you were foolish enough.
vulnerability to the elements; to the action of heat or cold or wind or rain
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
bringing death
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading "You could if you were foolish enough.
uselessness as a consequence of having no practical result
From this reading Concor shrugged in futility.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "You could if you were foolish enough.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Concor shrugged in futility.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
the force of workers available
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
in an essential manner
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
A large hole in the ground, or an abyss of darkness and peril.
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
inflected form of “shrug” — raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
From this reading Concor shrugged in futility.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading Tichron was stirring.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
in or at that place or location
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tichron was stirring.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Tichron was stirring.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You could if you were foolish enough.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The Pit Men will kill you before the radiation does."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You could if you were foolish enough.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading There would be some exposure, but not necessarily a fatal dose if you made your stay short.
Chapter 2 of The Prison of the Stars by Stanley Mullen holds 494 sentences, grouped into 99 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 2 holds 494 sentences of The Prison of the Stars, unabridged, divided into 99 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Prison of the Stars by Stanley Mullen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 494 sentences, grouped into 99 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 99 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 99 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 2 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 Prison of the Stars by Stanley Mullen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1461 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64362 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64362, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 121 minutes of reading across 293 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Prison of the Stars section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Prison of the Stars 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 Prison of the Stars, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
