Chapter 23 of Ben Hardy's flying machine is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of Ben Hardy's flying machine is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly. “Ours?” “The _Dart_, yes. The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.” “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
Chapter 23 of Ben Hardy's flying machine is here in full — 146 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading “THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.”
someone who operates an aircraft
From this reading “THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.”
move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
possessive form of “day” — time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
past form of “discolor” — lose color or turn colorless
From this reading “The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.””
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading “THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.”
the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading “The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.””
put to use
From this reading ““Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?””
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 THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
someone who operates an aircraft
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
a flexible container with a single opening
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading “The _Dart_, yes.
possessive form of “day” — time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
past form of “discolor” — lose color or turn colorless
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
with excitement; in an excited manner
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
formed or conceived by the imagination
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East Indies or their peoples or languages or cultures
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
engage in
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
the one or ones belonging to us
From this reading “Ours?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
a separate part of a whole
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
recurring again and again
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LOST AVIATOR “A piece of an airship!” repeated Bob excitedly.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
put to use
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The piece here is discolored and looks old, but a day’s knocking around with this Indian here would do that.”
an affirmative
From this reading “The _Dart_, yes.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Then you figure out that he has discovered the _Dart_ and utilized what he fancied about it to make a game bag, and this is it?”
Chapter 23 of Ben Hardy's flying machine by Frank V. Webster holds 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 23 holds 146 sentences of Ben Hardy's flying machine, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of Ben Hardy's flying machine by Frank V. Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 146 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 23 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.
