Chapter XX of Airship Andy, “A New Captivity,” is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter XX of Airship Andy, “A New Captivity,” is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?” “No, sir, positively not.” Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile. He stared blankly at the prospect before them. The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
Chapter XX of Airship Andy, “A New Captivity,” is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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 motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.”
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading “He stared blankly at the prospect before them.”
English writer noted for early detective novels (1824-1889)
From this reading “The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.”
house for a farmer and family
From this reading “The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.”
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading ““Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?””
extremely
From this reading ““No, sir, positively not.””
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
From this reading “The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.”
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading “The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.”
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 “He stared blankly at the prospect before them.”
In this reading “He stared blankly at the prospect before them.”
In this reading “The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.”
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 Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
in a blank and uncomprehending manner
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
English writer noted for early detective novels (1824-1889)
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?”
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
house for a farmer and family
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading “Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?”
English admiral who defeated the French fleets of Napoleon but was mortally wounded at Trafalgar (1758-1805)
From this reading “Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?”
not any; not one
From this reading “No, sir, positively not.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “No, sir, positively not.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
extremely
From this reading “No, sir, positively not.”
by chance
From this reading “Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?”
the possibility of future success
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
term of address for a man
From this reading “No, sir, positively not.”
the piece of land on which something is located (or is to be located)
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He stared blankly at the prospect before them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading The site of the Collins farmhouse was a flat stretch of waste and ruin.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Andy had come to a dead stop with the automobile.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Nelson, could you possibly be mistaken?”
Chapter 20 of Airship Andy by Frank V. Webster holds 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 20 holds 116 sentences of Airship Andy, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Airship Andy by Frank V. Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 20 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 Airship Andy by Frank V. Webster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3042 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36388 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36388, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 253 minutes of reading across 609 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Airship Andy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Airship Andy 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 Airship Andy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
