Chapter 5 of The Skylark of Valeron is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Skylark of Valeron is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It would appear that way. I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?" Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction. Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel. "It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.
Chapter 5 of The Skylark of Valeron is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading “Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.”
very great; limitless
From this reading “Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “"It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.”
stretch (the neck) so as to see better
From this reading “Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.”
dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut
From this reading “Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.”
capable of being perceived; especially capable of being handled or touched or felt
From this reading “Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.”
concerned with actual use or practice
From this reading “I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"”
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading “Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.”
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.
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.
perfect or complete or pure
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
very great; limitless
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "It would appear that way.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading "It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.
stretch (the neck) so as to see better
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
only a very short time before
From this reading "It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.
dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It would appear that way.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
above and across; more than
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
capable of being perceived; especially capable of being handled or touched or felt
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
concerned with actual use or practice
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.
not in physical motion
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "It would appear that way.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
a tube in which a body fluid circulates
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
capable of being seen; or open to easy view
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Crane moved over to number one visiplate and turned it in every direction.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nothing was visible in the abysmal, all-engulfing, almost palpable darkness of the absolute black outside the hull of the vessel.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "It would appear that way.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading I wonder if the visiplates are still practical?"
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading "It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "It would appear that way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It wouldn't work, hardly," Seaton commented.
Chapter 5 of The Skylark of Valeron by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of The Skylark of Valeron, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Skylark of Valeron by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Skylark of Valeron by E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Skylark of Valeron section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Skylark of Valeron 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 Skylark of Valeron, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
