Chapter 2 of Accidental Flight is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Accidental Flight is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this. That and the rocket pilot. For some reason he wasn't available. The damned place was under-manned. Always had been.
Chapter 2 of Accidental Flight is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
From this reading “For some reason he wasn't available.”
an occurrence of something
From this reading “That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “The damned place was under-manned.”
apart from; not including
From this reading “That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.”
operate an airplane
From this reading “That and the rocket pilot.”
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading “For some reason he wasn't available.”
plural of “robot” — a mechanism that can move automatically
From this reading “That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.”
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading “That and the rocket pilot.”
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 “For some reason he wasn't available.”
In this reading “That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.”
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 That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Always had been.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That and the rocket pilot.
obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
From this reading For some reason he wasn't available.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Always had been.
an occurrence of something
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading The damned place was under-manned.
apart from; not including
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For some reason he wasn't available.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Always had been.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For some reason he wasn't available.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
operate an airplane
From this reading That and the rocket pilot.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading The damned place was under-manned.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading For some reason he wasn't available.
plural of “robot” — a mechanism that can move automatically
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
From this reading That and the rocket pilot.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading For some reason he wasn't available.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The damned place was under-manned.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For some reason he wasn't available.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
which person or people
From this reading That was all, except the robots, who weren't much help in a case like this.
Chapter 2 of Accidental Flight by F. L. (Floyd L.) Wallace holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 2 holds 411 sentences of Accidental Flight, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Accidental Flight by F. L. (Floyd L.) Wallace exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 2 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 Accidental Flight by F. L. (Floyd L.) Wallace on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Accidental Flight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Accidental Flight 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 Accidental Flight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
