Chapter 4 of Ultima Thule is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Ultima Thule is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.” “Well, I don’t know about that. I don’t take orders from foreigners.” One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun. Ronny’s mouth went dry.
Chapter 4 of Ultima Thule is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
the placement of the fingers for playing different notes (or sequences of notes) on a musical instrument
From this reading “One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.”
plural of “foreigner” — a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
From this reading “I don’t take orders from foreigners.””
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading “Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.””
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading “One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.”
plural of “planet” — (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 “Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.””
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.””
put in motion or move to act
From this reading “One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.”
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading “Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.””
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 ““Well, I don’t know about that.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Well, I don’t know about that.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well, I don’t know about that.
free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
From this reading Ronny’s mouth went dry.
the placement of the fingers for playing different notes (or sequences of notes) on a musical instrument
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
plural of “foreigner” — a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
From this reading I don’t take orders from foreigners.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I don’t take orders from foreigners.”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Well, I don’t know about that.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Well, I don’t know about that.
the force of workers available
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading Ronny’s mouth went dry.
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading I don’t take orders from foreigners.”
plural of “planet” — (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 Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ronny’s mouth went dry.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
carry out
From this reading I don’t take orders from foreigners.”
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Well, I don’t know about that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
put in motion or move to act
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One of his men was nervously fingering the trigger of his submachine gun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ronny snapped, “We’re to be taken immediately to United Planets headquarters.”
(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, I don’t know about that.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Ronny’s mouth went dry.
Chapter 4 of Ultima Thule by Mack Reynolds holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 4 holds 404 sentences of Ultima Thule, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Ultima Thule by Mack Reynolds exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 4 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 Ultima Thule by Mack Reynolds on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2418 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30334 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30334, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 201 minutes of reading across 484 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ultima Thule section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Ultima Thule 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 Ultima Thule, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
