Chapter 2 of Venus Enslaved is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Venus Enslaved is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Od so! Your brain is younger than that. Leave me, I have no time for idiots." Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence. The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
Chapter 2 of Venus Enslaved is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.”
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading “Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.”
plural of “idiot” — a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading “Leave me, I have no time for idiots."”
filled or abounding with fog or mist
From this reading “The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.”
having the point made sharp
From this reading “The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.”
past form of “stiffen” — become stiff or stiffer
From this reading “Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.”
past form of “widen” — become broader or wider or more extensive
From this reading “Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.”
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading “Your brain is younger than that.”
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 “Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.”
In this reading “The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.”
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 Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
quickly and without warning
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
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 Your brain is younger than that.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
plural of “idiot” — a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Your brain is younger than that.
go away from a place
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
held up in the air
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
filled or abounding with fog or mist
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
not any; not one
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
a doctor's degree in optometry
From this reading "Od so!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
having the point made sharp
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Od so!
past form of “stiffen” — become stiff or stiffer
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Your brain is younger than that.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Your brain is younger than that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Leave me, I have no time for idiots."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two of them stood close together in the misty rain, their ears sharpened.
past form of “widen” — become broader or wider or more extensive
From this reading Abruptly she stiffened, widened her eyes, lifted a finger to her red lips for silence.
used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
From this reading Your brain is younger than that.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your brain is younger than that.
Chapter 2 of Venus Enslaved by Manly Wade Wellman holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 2 holds 395 sentences of Venus Enslaved, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Venus Enslaved by Manly Wade Wellman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 2 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 Enslaved by Manly Wade Wellman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1622 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62137 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62137, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 135 minutes of reading across 325 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Venus Enslaved section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Venus Enslaved 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 Enslaved, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
