Chapter 1 of "Who he?" is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of "Who he?" is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"WHO HE?" Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die. I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms. I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows. I'm married to an actress.
Chapter 1 of "Who he?" is here in full — 101 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 female actor
From this reading “I'm married to an actress.”
plural of “dilemma” — state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options
From this reading “I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.”
state of violent mental agitation
From this reading “I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.”
plural of “parenthesis” — either of two punctuation marks (or) used to enclose textual material
From this reading “I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.”
of or relating to perception
From this reading “I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.”
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading “I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.”
-ing form of “specialize” — become more focused on an area of activity or field of study
From this reading “I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.”
tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats perform high above the ground
From this reading “I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.”
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 “I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.”
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 I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
a female actor
From this reading I'm married to an actress.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading I'm married to an actress.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
brought into existence
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
without variation or change, in every case
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
travel across or pass over
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
plural of “dilemma” — state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "WHO HE?"
state of violent mental agitation
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
joined in matrimony
From this reading I'm married to an actress.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
above and across; more than
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
plural of “parenthesis” — either of two punctuation marks (or) used to enclose textual material
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
of or relating to perception
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
plural of “show” — the act of publicly exhibiting or entertaining
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
-ing form of “specialize” — become more focused on an area of activity or field of study
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats perform high above the ground
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Every morning I hate to be born, and every night I'm afraid to die.
the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services
From this reading I'm a script-writer by trade, specializing in mystery shows.
close enough to be walked to
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
which person or people
From this reading "WHO HE?"
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading I live my life within these parentheses, and since I'm constantly walking a tightrope over hysteria, I'm perceptive to the dilemmas of other people as they cross their own chasms.
Chapter 1 of "Who he?" by Alfred Bester holds 101 sentences, grouped into 21 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 101 sentences of "Who he?", unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of "Who he?" by Alfred Bester exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 101 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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 "Who he?" by Alfred Bester on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11213 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75234 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75234, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2243 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through "Who he?" section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of "Who he?" 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 "Who he?", each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
