Chapter 1 of The Space Rover is here in full — 642 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Space Rover is here in full — 642 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury. Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward. Fail now? He gritted his teeth. No!
Chapter 1 of The Space Rover is here in full — 642 sentences across 129 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/128 · 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.
plural of “control” — power to direct or determine
From this reading “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading “Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.”
a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
From this reading “Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.”
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
plural of “mine” — excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted
From this reading “Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.”
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
a particular environment or walk of life
From this reading “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
in a weary manner
From this reading “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
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 “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
In this reading “Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.”
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 Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
plural of “control” — power to direct or determine
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
arising from or marked by despair or loss of hope
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
the act of escaping physically
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading Fail now?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He gritted his teeth.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He gritted his teeth.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He gritted his teeth.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
plural of “mine” — excavation in the earth from which ores and minerals are extracted
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
not any; not one
From this reading No!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Fail now?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
a particular environment or walk of life
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading He gritted his teeth.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
in a weary manner
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
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 Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little space sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Young Winford heads a desperate escape from the prison mines of Mercury.
Chapter 1 of The Space Rover by Edwin K. Sloat holds 642 sentences, grouped into 129 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 1 holds 642 sentences of The Space Rover, unabridged, divided into 129 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Space Rover by Edwin K. Sloat exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 642 sentences, grouped into 129 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 129 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 129 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 1 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 Space Rover by Edwin K. Sloat on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 642 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 53 minutes of reading across 129 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Space Rover section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Space Rover 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 Space Rover, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
