Chapter 3 of The Ship of Stars is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Ship of Stars is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE RUNNING SANDS. He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window. At first he wondered what had happened. The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions. Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
Chapter 3 of The Ship of Stars is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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.
away from the right path or direction
From this reading “The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.”
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading “He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.”
the overhead upper surface of a covered space
From this reading “The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.”
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
From this reading “The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.”
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.”
plural of “position” — the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading “The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.”
the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
From this reading “THE RUNNING SANDS.”
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading “He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.”
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.
(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 The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
away from the right path or direction
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
inflected form of “awake” — stop sleeping
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
the overhead upper surface of a covered space
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first he wondered what had happened.
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading At first he wondered what had happened.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading At first he wondered what had happened.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
past form of “jump” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
plural of “position” — the particular portion of space occupied by something
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading THE RUNNING SANDS.
the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
From this reading THE RUNNING SANDS.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
having an oblique or slanted direction
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RUNNING SANDS.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he remembered, jumped out of bed, and drew the blind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading At first he wondered what had happened.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading He awoke to find the sun shining in at his window.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading At first he wondered what had happened.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading The window seemed to be in the ceiling, and the ceiling sloped down to the walls, and all the furniture had gone astray into wrong positions.
Chapter 3 of The Ship of Stars by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 103 sentences of The Ship of Stars, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Ship of Stars by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 Ship of Stars by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4896 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16000 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16000, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 408 minutes of reading across 980 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ship of Stars section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Ship of 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 Ship of Stars, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
