Chapter 1 of The Variable Man is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Variable Man is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The cart was gone. The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat. _Gone._ Destroyed. Nothing but ashes and debris remained. The realization dazed him.
Chapter 1 of The Variable Man is here in full — 457 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 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 heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal
From this reading “The cart was gone.”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “The realization dazed him.”
the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
From this reading “Nothing but ashes and debris remained.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.”
past form of “lash” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading “The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.”
the act of mixing together
From this reading “The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.”
repeated heavy blows
From this reading “The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.”
coming to understand something clearly and distinctly
From this reading “The realization dazed him.”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Nothing but ashes and debris remained.
The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.
From this reading Nothing but ashes and debris remained.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Nothing but ashes and debris remained.
a heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal
From this reading The cart was gone.
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading The realization dazed him.
the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up
From this reading Nothing but ashes and debris remained.
spoiled or ruined or demolished
From this reading _Gone._ Destroyed.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The cart was gone.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
lacking natural ease
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
past form of “lash” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
the act of mixing together
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing but ashes and debris remained.
repeated heavy blows
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
coming to understand something clearly and distinctly
From this reading The realization dazed him.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Nothing but ashes and debris remained.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The cart was gone.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The cart was gone.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The thought lashed against him, pounding at his brain, mixing with his labored pulse-beat.
Chapter 1 of The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick holds 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 457 sentences of The Variable Man, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 457 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 Variable Man by Philip K. Dick on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2271 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32154 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32154, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 189 minutes of reading across 455 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Variable Man section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Variable Man 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 Variable Man, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
