Chapter 1 of The Recluse is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Recluse is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The human voice! Had there even been so sweet a sound? Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer. Arak Miller watched it from the mesa. _From Earth_, he thought.
Chapter 1 of The Recluse is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
past form of “ache” — feel physical pain
From this reading “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
flat tableland with steep edges
From this reading “Arak Miller watched it from the mesa.”
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
possessive form of “planet” — (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 “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
in a swift manner
From this reading “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
being five more than twenty
From this reading “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
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 “Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.”
In this reading “_The human voice!”
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 Had there even been so sweet a sound?
past form of “ache” — feel physical pain
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
the part of the day between noon and evening
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
any of various strong liquors distilled from the fermented sap of toddy palms or from fermented molasses
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
with eagerness; in an eager manner
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading _From Earth_, he thought.
divisible by two
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Arak Miller watched it from the mesa.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _From Earth_, he thought.
characteristic of humanity
From this reading _The human voice!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
flat tableland with steep edges
From this reading Arak Miller watched it from the mesa.
United States bandleader of a popular big band (1909-1944)
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
possessive form of “planet” — (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 Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
transport commercially
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
in a swift manner
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The human voice!
in or at that place or location
From this reading Had there even been so sweet a sound?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading _From Earth_, he thought.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
being five more than twenty
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading _The human voice!
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Arak Miller watched it from the mesa.
a late time of life
From this reading Arak Miller ached for it--too eagerly; too swiftly._ Twenty-five years later a ship appeared, on an afternoon in the planet's summer.
Chapter 1 of The Recluse by Mike Curry holds 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 115 sentences of The Recluse, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Recluse by Mike Curry exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 Recluse by Mike Curry on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 115 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63677 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63677, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 9 minutes of reading across 23 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Recluse section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Recluse 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 Recluse, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
