Chapter 4 of The Secret Martians is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Secret Martians is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Not here, you mean?" The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned. "You want me to come with you; is that it?" I said. It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
Chapter 4 of The Secret Martians is here in full — 433 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.”
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading “It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “"Not here, you mean?"”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.”
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading “The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.”
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.”
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading “It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.”
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading “The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.”
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 “It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.”
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 The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Not here, you mean?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I said.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading "Not here, you mean?"
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
inflected form of “nod” — express or signify by nodding
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not here, you mean?"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading It nodded, with less patience, and moved off a few paces.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The sugarfoot nodded, then raised a hand and beckoned.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "You want me to come with you; is that it?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Not here, you mean?"
Chapter 4 of The Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey holds 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 4 holds 433 sentences of The Secret Martians, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 433 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 4 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 Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3857 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50668 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50668, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Martians section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Secret Martians 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 Secret Martians, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
