Chapter 18 of The Red Planet is here in full — 508 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Red Planet is here in full — 508 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce. He touched the public imagination. All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place. It simmered with martial fervour. Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
Chapter 18 of The Red Planet is here in full — 508 sentences across 102 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/101 · 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.
being of questionable authenticity
From this reading “All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.”
conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief
From this reading “All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.”
a relation that provides the foundation for something
From this reading “All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.”
an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support
From this reading “Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.”
inflected form of “enrol” — register formally as a participant or member
From this reading “Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.”
plural of “laggard” — someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
From this reading “Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.”
past form of “simmer” — boil slowly at low temperature
From this reading “It simmered with martial fervour.”
tell voluntarily
From this reading “Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.”
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 All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
(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 All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
being of questionable authenticity
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
a relation that provides the foundation for something
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
inflected form of “enrol” — register formally as a participant or member
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
From this reading It simmered with martial fervour.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He touched the public imagination.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses
From this reading He touched the public imagination.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It simmered with martial fervour.
plural of “kind” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
plural of “laggard” — someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
(of persons) befitting a warrior
From this reading It simmered with martial fervour.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading He touched the public imagination.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
past form of “simmer” — boil slowly at low temperature
From this reading It simmered with martial fervour.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
plural of “story” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
having come into contact
From this reading He touched the public imagination.
activity leading to skilled behavior
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
a fact that has been verified
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
tell voluntarily
From this reading Elderly laggards enrolled themselves in the Volunteer Training Corps.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Thenceforward nothing was talked of but the home-coming of Colonel Boyce.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading All kinds of stories, some apocryphal, some having a basis of truth, some authentic, went the round of the little place.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It simmered with martial fervour.
Chapter 18 of The Red Planet by William John Locke holds 508 sentences, grouped into 102 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 18 holds 508 sentences of The Red Planet, unabridged, divided into 102 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Red Planet by William John Locke exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 508 sentences, grouped into 102 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 102 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 102 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 18 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 Red Planet by William John Locke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7299 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4287 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4287, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1460 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Red Planet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Red Planet 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 Red Planet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
