Chapter 1 of The Status Civilization is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Status Civilization is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Yes sir. Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...." "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said. "And today is Landing Day. You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
Chapter 1 of The Status Civilization is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
arranged into classes
From this reading “You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."”
owning or consisting of land or real estate
From this reading “You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....”
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading “"And today is Landing Day.”
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading “Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."”
a laborer who is obliged to do menial work
From this reading “You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....”
transport commercially
From this reading “You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....”
the present time or age
From this reading “"And today is Landing Day.”
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 You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And today is Landing Day.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
arranged into classes
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "And today is Landing Day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "And today is Landing Day.
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
owning or consisting of land or real estate
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
an intermediate platform in a staircase
From this reading "And today is Landing Day.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
the force of workers available
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
a laborer who is obliged to do menial work
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Quite right," Mr. Frendlyer said.
transport commercially
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
term of address for a man
From this reading "Yes sir.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
in or at that place or location
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
the present time or age
From this reading "And today is Landing Day.
hard to endure
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, there are three men outside trying to kill me...."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes sir.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You came off the ship that landed today, and have been classified a peon....
Chapter 1 of The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley holds 418 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 1 holds 418 sentences of The Status Civilization, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 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 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 Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4293 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20919 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20919, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 357 minutes of reading across 859 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Status Civilization section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Status Civilization 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 Status Civilization, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
