Chapter 1 of The Vault is here in full — 314 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Vault is here in full — 314 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move. The whole huge pile of the factory was still. There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade. Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited. There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
Chapter 1 of The Vault is here in full — 314 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/62 · 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.
any specific behavior
From this reading “There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.”
plural of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.”
a rapid active commotion
From this reading “There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.”
a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing
From this reading “The whole huge pile of the factory was still.”
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading “The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.”
the sound of a bell ringing
From this reading “There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.”
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading “The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.”
fortification consisting of a fence made of a line of stout posts set firmly for defense
From this reading “There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.”
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 whole huge pile of the factory was still.”
the sound of an alarm (usually a bell)
In this reading “There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.”
a prolonged period of time
In this reading “The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.”
In this reading “Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited.”
In this reading “Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited.”
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 window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
any specific behavior
From this reading There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
at or in or to any place
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
plural of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
a rapid active commotion
From this reading There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited.
lacking in light; not bright or harsh
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
apart from; not including
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited.
plural of “light” — (physics) electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
the deliberate act of deviating from the truth
From this reading Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
device for converting sound waves into electrical energy
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
not any; not one
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
a collection of objects laid on top of each other
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Lying quite still in the darkness, Mike waited.
the sound of a bell ringing
From this reading There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading There was no sound, no ringing of alarm bells, no bustle of activity anywhere.
not in physical motion
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
fortification consisting of a fence made of a line of stout posts set firmly for defense
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were no lights anywhere, except that dim one by the gate through the stockade.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading The whole huge pile of the factory was still.
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 The window slid up easily–too easily–and Mike waited a long time, listening, before he made a move.
Chapter 1 of The Vault by Murray Leinster holds 314 sentences, grouped into 63 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 314 sentences of The Vault, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Vault by Murray Leinster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 314 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 Vault by Murray Leinster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 314 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #66081 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #66081, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 26 minutes of reading across 63 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Vault section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Vault 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 Vault, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
