Chapter 1 of We're Off to Mars! is here in full — 467 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of We're Off to Mars! is here in full — 467 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WE'RE OFF TO MARS! The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted. The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it! Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning. "Who is it?" he called out.
Chapter 1 of We're Off to Mars! is here in full — 467 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 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.
make or cause to be or to become
From this reading “The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.”
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.”
showing displeasure or anger
From this reading “Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.”
remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading “The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.”
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading “The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.”
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 “WE'RE OFF TO MARS!”
a mechanism that can move automatically
From this reading “The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.”
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.”
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 “Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.”
In this reading “Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.”
utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
In this reading “"Who is it?" he called 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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
any thing at all
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Who is it?" he called out.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
make or cause to be or to become
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
showing displeasure or anger
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Who is it?" he called out.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
remain present although waning or gradually dying
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
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 WE'RE OFF TO MARS!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading WE'RE OFF TO MARS!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Who is it?" he called out.
located or moved above the surround or above the normal position
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
a mechanism that can move automatically
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading WE'RE OFF TO MARS!
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Joe Linger raised up on one elbow and stared at the door, frowning.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WE'RE OFF TO MARS!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading The catch was, that he was being told what to create--and didn't know it!
which person or people
From this reading "Who is it?" he called out.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The strange little robot machine would create anything Joe Linger wanted.
Chapter 1 of We're Off to Mars! by Joe Gibson holds 467 sentences, grouped into 94 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 467 sentences of We're Off to Mars!, unabridged, divided into 94 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of We're Off to Mars! by Joe Gibson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 467 sentences, grouped into 94 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 94 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 94 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 We're Off to Mars! by Joe Gibson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 467 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #65254 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #65254, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 38 minutes of reading across 94 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through We're Off to Mars! section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of We're Off to Mars! 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 We're Off to Mars!, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
