Chapter 17 of Ben Hardy's flying machine is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Ben Hardy's flying machine is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him. Then his countenance expanded. “You have solved the problem, Hardy. You are sure you want to invest all that money?” “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
Chapter 17 of Ben Hardy's flying machine is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
plural of “bill” — a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading “ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.”
(physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
From this reading ““To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.”
increased in extent or size or bulk or scope
From this reading “Then his countenance expanded.”
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading ““You have solved the problem, Hardy.”
make an investment
From this reading “You are sure you want to invest all that money?””
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading ““You have solved the problem, Hardy.”
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading “ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.”
explained or answered
From this reading ““You have solved the problem, Hardy.”
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 “ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.”
In this reading “ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.”
In this reading “ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.”
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.
(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 You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
plural of “bill” — a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
the appearance conveyed by a person's face
From this reading Then his countenance expanded.
a piece of furniture with a writing surface and usually drawers or other compartments
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
(physics) a thermodynamic quantity equivalent to the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
increased in extent or size or bulk or scope
From this reading Then his countenance expanded.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
From this reading “You have solved the problem, Hardy.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “You have solved the problem, Hardy.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Then his countenance expanded.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
make an investment
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “You have solved the problem, Hardy.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
explained or answered
From this reading “You have solved the problem, Hardy.
(used of eyes) open and fixed as if in fear or wonder
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then his countenance expanded.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading ON TIME The lawyer sat staring in surprise at the little roll of bills Ben had placed on the desk before him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading You are sure you want to invest all that money?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “To help my father—I guess so!” replied our hero with energy.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You have solved the problem, Hardy.
Chapter 17 of Ben Hardy's flying machine by Frank V. Webster holds 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 17 holds 133 sentences of Ben Hardy's flying machine, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Ben Hardy's flying machine by Frank V. Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 17 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 Ben Hardy's flying machine by Frank V. Webster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3258 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69511 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69511, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 271 minutes of reading across 652 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ben Hardy's flying machine section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Ben Hardy's flying machine 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 Ben Hardy's flying machine, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
