Chapter XI of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman, “What Happened in the Air,” is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter XI of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman, “What Happened in the Air,” is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock. Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine. He counted seven—seven men approaching him. “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near. “All passengers?”
Chapter XI of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman, “What Happened in the Air,” is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
in an affable manner
From this reading ““Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.”
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading “He counted seven—seven men approaching him.”
an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading “Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.”
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading ““Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.”
the body of people who lead a group
From this reading ““Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.”
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading ““All passengers?””
plural of “plank” — a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
From this reading “Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.”
-ing form of “tramp” — travel on foot, especially on a walking expedition
From this reading “Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.”
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 “Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.”
In this reading “Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.”
In this reading “He counted seven—seven men approaching him.”
In this reading “Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.”
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 Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
in an affable manner
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
(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 passengers?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading He counted seven—seven men approaching him.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
a statute in draft before it becomes law
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
past form of “count” — determine the number or amount of
From this reading He counted seven—seven men approaching him.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
past form of “greet” — express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He counted seven—seven men approaching him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He counted seven—seven men approaching him.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
the body of people who lead a group
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
the force of workers available
From this reading He counted seven—seven men approaching him.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading “Morning,” he greeted affably as the leaders drew near.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
plural of “passenger” — a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
From this reading “All passengers?”
plural of “plank” — a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading He counted seven—seven men approaching him.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
the rays of the sun
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Bill took a deep breath and stepped out of the cabin into the bright sunshine.
-ing form of “tramp” — travel on foot, especially on a walking expedition
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
made or consisting of (entirely or in part) or employing wood
From this reading Then there came the sound of tramping on the wooden planks of the dock.
Chapter 11 of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman by Noel Sainsbury holds 174 sentences, grouped into 35 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 11 holds 174 sentences of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman by Noel Sainsbury exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 174 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 11 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 Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman by Noel Sainsbury on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2991 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35858 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35858, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 249 minutes of reading across 599 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman 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 Bill Bolton—Flying Midshipman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
