Chapter 12 of The starmen is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The starmen is here in full — 426 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again. "They're ranging us down the canyon." He reached for his helmet. The skiff shuddered a second time, harder. Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.
Chapter 12 of The starmen is here in full — 426 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.
a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading “"They're ranging us down the canyon."”
comparative of “hard” — with effort or force or vigor
From this reading “The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.”
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading “He reached for his helmet.”
unpleasantly
From this reading “Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.”
wandering freely
From this reading “"They're ranging us down the canyon."”
thrown together in a disorderly fashion
From this reading “Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.”
past form of “shudder” — shake, as from cold
From this reading “The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.”
any of various small boats propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
From this reading “The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.”
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 “The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.”
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 The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.
anew
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading "They're ranging us down the canyon."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "They're ranging us down the canyon."
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He reached for his helmet.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
comparative of “hard” — with effort or force or vigor
From this reading The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He reached for his helmet.
armor plate that protects the head
From this reading He reached for his helmet.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He reached for his helmet.
unpleasantly
From this reading Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
wandering freely
From this reading "They're ranging us down the canyon."
past form of “reach” — reach a destination, either real or abstract
From this reading He reached for his helmet.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
thrown together in a disorderly fashion
From this reading Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.
ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
past form of “shudder” — shake, as from cold
From this reading The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.
any of various small boats propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
From this reading The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "They're ranging us down the canyon."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "They're ranging us down the canyon."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The skiff shuddered a second time, harder.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Trehearne scrambled painfully to his feet.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Shell burst," Quorn said, getting up again.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "They're ranging us down the canyon."
Chapter 12 of The starmen by Leigh Brackett holds 426 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 12 holds 426 sentences of The starmen, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The starmen by Leigh Brackett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 426 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 12 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.
