Chapter 4 of Venus Boy is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Venus Boy is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"O.K.," Captain Thompson said. "Let's get moving. I'm needed out there!" Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed. Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
Chapter 4 of Venus Boy is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 hole (usually with a flush cover) through which a person can gain access to an underground structure
From this reading “Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.”
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading “Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.”
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading “Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.”
a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading “Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.”
past form of “squeak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading “Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.”
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading “"O.K.," Captain Thompson said.”
inflected form of “undo” — cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
From this reading “Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.”
a movable organ for flying (one of a pair)
From this reading “Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.”
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 “Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading "O.K.," Captain Thompson said.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Let's get moving.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm needed out there!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
the basic unit of thermodynamic temperature adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading "O.K.," Captain Thompson said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Let's get moving.
a hole (usually with a flush cover) through which a person can gain access to an underground structure
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
in motion
From this reading "Let's get moving.
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading I'm needed out there!"
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O.K.," Captain Thompson said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I'm needed out there!"
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
a painful muscle spasm especially in the neck or back (“rick” and “wrick” are British)
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "O.K.," Captain Thompson said.
past form of “squeak” — make a high-pitched, screeching noise
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading Metal squeaked, but the door stayed in place.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
in or at that place or location
From this reading I'm needed out there!"
United States classical archaeologist (born in Canada) noted for leading the excavation of the Athenian agora (1906-2000)
From this reading "O.K.," Captain Thompson said.
inflected form of “undo” — cancel, annul, or reverse an action or its effect
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
a movable organ for flying (one of a pair)
From this reading Rick undid the wing nuts on the manhole and pushed.
Chapter 4 of Venus Boy by Lee Sutton holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 425 sentences of Venus Boy, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Venus Boy by Lee Sutton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Venus Boy by Lee Sutton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3860 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50702 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50702, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Venus Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Venus Boy 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 Venus Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
