Chapter 1 of Zero Hour is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Zero Hour is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon. Naturally he wanted to go along. But could he smuggle himself aboard? Dad had already gone when Bobby got up. This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
Chapter 1 of Zero Hour is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading “But could he smuggle himself aboard?”
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading “By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.”
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading “By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.”
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading “This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.”
as might be expected
From this reading “Naturally he wanted to go along.”
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading “By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.”
import or export without paying customs duties
From this reading “But could he smuggle himself aboard?”
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 “By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.”
In this reading “Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.”
rise to one's feet
In this reading “Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.”
cooperate or pretend to cooperate
In this reading “Naturally he wanted to go along.”
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 This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading But could he smuggle himself aboard?
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Naturally he wanted to go along.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But could he smuggle himself aboard?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading But could he smuggle himself aboard?
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
disappointingly unsuccessful
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Naturally he wanted to go along.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Naturally he wanted to go along.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading But could he smuggle himself aboard?
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
as might be expected
From this reading Naturally he wanted to go along.
past form of “remember” — recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
import or export without paying customs duties
From this reading But could he smuggle himself aboard?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This disappointed Bobby a little but then he remembered--_this was the big day_.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Naturally he wanted to go along.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By accident Bobby discovered the rocket was about to be shot to the Moon.
at the time that
From this reading Dad had already gone when Bobby got up.
Chapter 1 of Zero Hour by Alexander Blade holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 170 sentences of Zero Hour, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Zero Hour by Alexander Blade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Zero Hour by Alexander Blade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 170 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30476 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30476, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 14 minutes of reading across 34 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Zero Hour section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Zero Hour 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 Zero Hour, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
