Chapter 3 of The Prison of the Stars is here in full — 478 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Prison of the Stars is here in full — 478 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts. With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them. Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent. Alarms screamed in mechanical panic. Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
Chapter 3 of The Prison of the Stars is here in full — 478 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/95 · 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.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “Alarms screamed in mechanical panic.”
forming or set at an angle
From this reading “With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.”
convert food into absorbable substances
From this reading “But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.”
without any delay
From this reading “Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.”
-ing form of “maneuver” — direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
From this reading “Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.”
the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place
From this reading “Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.”
a mechanism that can move automatically
From this reading “Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.”
difficult to handle; requiring great tact
From this reading “Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.”
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 “Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.”
In this reading “With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.”
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 With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading Alarms screamed in mechanical panic.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
forming or set at an angle
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
an orderly arrangement
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
tried unsuccessfully
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
(physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
close interaction
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
an inclination or desire; used in the plural in the phrase “left to your own devices”
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
convert food into absorbable substances
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
close in time; about to occur
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Alarms screamed in mechanical panic.
without any delay
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
-ing form of “maneuver” — direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices
From this reading Alarms screamed in mechanical panic.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
past form of “operate” — direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety
From this reading Alarms screamed in mechanical panic.
the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
with speed
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
a mechanism that can move automatically
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Alarms screamed in mechanical panic.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Distance closed rapidly, and collision seemed imminent.
transport commercially
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
move hurridly
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
give something useful or necessary to
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
difficult to handle; requiring great tact
From this reading Robot piloting devices operated instantaneously, attempted ticklish maneuvering to avoid contact.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But the officers of the supply ship had scant time to digest this array of facts.
in the direction of
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a burst of speed, the strange craft angled suddenly toward them.
Chapter 3 of The Prison of the Stars by Stanley Mullen holds 478 sentences, grouped into 96 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 478 sentences of The Prison of the Stars, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Prison of the Stars by Stanley Mullen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 478 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 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.
