Chapter 1 of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious. The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped. The door snapped open. Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
Chapter 1 of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
From this reading “The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.”
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading “The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.”
closed in or surrounded or included within
From this reading “Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).”
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading “All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.”
plural of “italic” — a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading “Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).”
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
From this reading “Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).”
dressed in a uniform
From this reading “Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.”
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading “Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.”
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.
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 Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
(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 All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
plural of “character” — an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading The door snapped open.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
closed in or surrounded or included within
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
plural of “expression” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
plural of “italic” — a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The door snapped open.
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading The door snapped open.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
the words of something written
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading All names, characters, places, and events in this story are entirely fictitious.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The bus from San Antonio pulled in to the curb and stopped.
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
From this reading Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
dressed in a uniform
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading Half a dozen uniformed upperclassmen wearing grim expressions moved closer to the vehicle.
Chapter 1 of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress by Gaylord Du Bois holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 428 sentences of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress by Gaylord Du Bois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress by Gaylord Du Bois on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4252 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47696 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47696, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 354 minutes of reading across 851 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress 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 Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
