Chapter 1 of Volpla 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 I
Chapter 1 of Volpla is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor! There were three of them. Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator. But there were three of _them_. My heart took a great bound.
Chapter 1 of Volpla 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.
associated with academia or an academy
From this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
a pedal that controls the throttle valve
From this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
of or from or pertaining to or characteristic of the cosmos or universe
From this reading “The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!”
The universe seen as a well-ordered whole governed by rational nature.
From this reading “The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!”
an attack of hysteria
From this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
of or relating to metabolism
From this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
plural of “mutant” — (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration
From this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
a specialist in the branch of biology dealing with animals
From this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
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 “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
In this reading “The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!”
In this reading “Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.”
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 The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
associated with academia or an academy
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
a pedal that controls the throttle valve
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
confined by bonds
From this reading My heart took a great bound.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But there were three of _them_.
of or from or pertaining to or characteristic of the cosmos or universe
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
The universe seen as a well-ordered whole governed by rational nature.
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
a large number or amount
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
prevent from speaking out
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading My heart took a great bound.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading My heart took a great bound.
a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
an attack of hysteria
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
walk impeded by some physical limitation or injury
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
kept in good condition
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
of or relating to metabolism
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
plural of “mutant” — (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My heart took a great bound.
offensive or even (of persons) malicious
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
and nothing more
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
a general conscious awareness
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading There were three of them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were three of them.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading There were three of them.
up to a particular time
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading My heart took a great bound.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were three of them.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading The only kind of gag worth pulling, I always maintained, was a cosmic one--till I learned the Cosmos has a really nasty sense of humor!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
a specialist in the branch of biology dealing with animals
From this reading Dozens of limp little mutants that would have sent an academic zoologist into hysterics lay there in the metabolic accelerator.
Chapter 1 of Volpla by Wyman Guin 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 1 holds 404 sentences of Volpla, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Volpla by Wyman Guin 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 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 Volpla by Wyman Guin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 802 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #51201 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #51201, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 161 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Volpla section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Volpla 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 Volpla, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
