Chapter 5 of The Sky Is Falling is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Sky Is Falling is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock. But that wasn't the worst of it. The sun had broken through the hole and was falling! VII The fall of the sun was seemingly endless. It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
Chapter 5 of The Sky Is Falling is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward
From this reading “The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.”
past form of “encounter” — come together
From this reading “It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.”
be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
From this reading “It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.”
single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
From this reading “It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.”
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.”
from appearances alone
From this reading “VII The fall of the sun was seemingly endless.”
the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva)
From this reading “It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.”
past form of “teeter” — move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
From this reading “It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.”
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.
anew
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading The sun had broken through the hole and was falling!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But that wasn't the worst of it.
a concave shape whose distinguishing characteristic is that the concavity faces downward
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
past form of “encounter” — come together
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
tiresomely long; seemingly without end
From this reading VII The fall of the sun was seemingly endless.
constituting the full quantity or extent; complete
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading VII The fall of the sun was seemingly endless.
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading The sun had broken through the hole and was falling!
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
an opening into or through something
From this reading The sun had broken through the hole and was falling!
be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But that wasn't the worst of it.
single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But that wasn't the worst of it.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
a hypothetical substance once believed to be present in all combustible materials and to be released during burning
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
from appearances alone
From this reading VII The fall of the sun was seemingly endless.
the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
the act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva)
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading The sun had broken through the hole and was falling!
past form of “teeter” — move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But that wasn't the worst of it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The sun had broken through the hole and was falling!
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It teetered out of the hole and seemed to hover, spitting great gouts of flame as it encountered the phlogiston layer.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading VII The fall of the sun was seemingly endless.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The sun had broken through the hole and was falling!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But that wasn't the worst of it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The sky had ripped again, and this time the entire dome shook with the shock.
the least favorable outcome
From this reading But that wasn't the worst of it.
Chapter 5 of The Sky Is Falling by Lester Del Rey holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 5 holds 422 sentences of The Sky Is Falling, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Sky Is Falling by Lester Del Rey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 5 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 Sky Is Falling by Lester Del Rey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2878 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #18768 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #18768, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 239 minutes of reading across 576 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sky Is Falling section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Sky Is Falling 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 Sky Is Falling, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
