Chapter 1 of The Venus Trap is here in full — 776 sentences across 156 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Venus Trap is here in full — 776 sentences across 156 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this! "What's the matter, darling?" James asked anxiously. "Don't you like the planet?" "Oh, I love the planet," Phyllis said.
Chapter 1 of The Venus Trap is here in full — 776 sentences across 156 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/155 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “James asked anxiously.”
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading “One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!”
a special loved one
From this reading “"What's the matter, darling?"”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “James asked anxiously.”
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading “"Don't you like the planet?"”
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading “One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!”
a three-sided polygon
From this reading “One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!”
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 “James asked anxiously.”
In this reading “One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!”
judge to be probable
In this reading “One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!”
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 One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading James asked anxiously.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading James asked anxiously.
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a special loved one
From this reading "What's the matter, darling?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't you like the planet?"
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Oh, I love the planet," Phyllis said.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading James asked anxiously.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading "Oh, I love the planet," Phyllis said.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading "What's the matter, darling?"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, I love the planet," Phyllis said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, I love the planet," Phyllis said.
(astronomy) any of the nine large celestial bodies in the solar system that revolve around the sun and shine by reflected light
From this reading "Don't you like the planet?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Oh, I love the planet," Phyllis said.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
carry out
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a special situation
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
a three-sided polygon
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
marked by unswerving loyalty
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "What's the matter, darling?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading One thing Man never counted on to take along into space with him was the Eternal Triangle--especially a true-blue triangle like this!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Don't you like the planet?"
Chapter 1 of The Venus Trap by Evelyn E. Smith holds 776 sentences, grouped into 156 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 776 sentences of The Venus Trap, unabridged, divided into 156 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Venus Trap by Evelyn E. Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 776 sentences, grouped into 156 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 156 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 156 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 Venus Trap by Evelyn E. Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 776 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31583 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31583, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 64 minutes of reading across 156 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Venus Trap section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Venus Trap 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 Venus Trap, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
