Chapter 1 of Virgin Ground is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Virgin Ground is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars. There were forty brides. And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down. "Okay, girls. Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
Chapter 1 of Virgin Ground is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 chamber that provides access to space where air is under pressure
From this reading “And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.”
plural of “bride” — a woman who has recently been married
From this reading “There were forty brides.”
past form of “kick” — drive or propel with the foot
From this reading “And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.”
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading “_Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.”
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading “"Okay, girls.”
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 “Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.”
past form of “shove” — come into rough contact with while moving
From this reading “And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.”
plural of “suitcase” — a portable rectangular container for carrying clothes
From this reading “Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.”
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.
move out of or depart from
In this reading “Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.”
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 _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
a chamber that provides access to space where air is under pressure
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
plural of “bride” — a woman who has recently been married
From this reading There were forty brides.
move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
being ten more than thirty
From this reading There were forty brides.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading "Okay, girls.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
past form of “kick” — drive or propel with the foot
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
hide under a false appearance
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
the force of workers available
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading "Okay, girls.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
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 Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
operate an airplane
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
transport commercially
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
past form of “shove” — come into rough contact with while moving
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
having a handwritten signature
From this reading _Annie signed on a bride ship for Mars.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
plural of “suitcase” — a portable rectangular container for carrying clothes
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were forty brides.
being nine more than thirty
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were forty brides.
at the time that
From this reading And when she got there, thirty-nine men were waiting._ The pilot shoved open the airlock and kicked the stairs down.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Carry your suitcases and I'll give each of you an oxygen mask as you go out.
Chapter 1 of Virgin Ground by Rosel George Brown holds 422 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 1 holds 422 sentences of Virgin Ground, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Virgin Ground by Rosel George Brown exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 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 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 Virgin Ground by Rosel George Brown on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 422 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60694 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60694, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 35 minutes of reading across 85 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Virgin Ground section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Virgin Ground 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 Virgin Ground, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
