Chapter 2 of The starmen is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The starmen is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne." The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around. The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that. Come back a way, I want to talk to you." "Who--?"
Chapter 2 of The starmen is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control
From this reading “The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.”
the act of grasping
From this reading “The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.”
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading “The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.”
an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
From this reading “The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.”
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.”
a person, without saying who
From this reading “From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."”
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading “The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.”
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading “The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.”
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.
be restored
In this reading “Come back a way, I want to talk to you."”
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 Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
the act of grasping
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
a condition requiring relief
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
with low volume
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
plural of “shadow” — shade within clear boundaries
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
a person, without saying who
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous)
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Come back a way, I want to talk to you."
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
From this reading The sheer reflex of tight-strung nerves closed Trehearne's grip on the automatic and brought him whirling around.
which person or people
From this reading "Who--?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The speaker must have seen the gesture, for he said quietly, "You won't need that.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading From out of the rain and the shadows close by him, someone said, "You must be Trehearne."
Chapter 2 of The starmen by Leigh Brackett holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 2 holds 428 sentences of The starmen, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The starmen by Leigh Brackett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 2 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 starmen by Leigh Brackett 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 starmen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The starmen 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 starmen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
