Chapter 1 of Jet Plane Mystery is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Jet Plane Mystery is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick. A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific. But Jack loved to whittle. “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him. “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
Chapter 1 of Jet Plane Mystery is here in full — 170 sentences across 34 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.
a vehicle that can fly
From this reading “A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.”
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading “A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.”
a person who holds a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant junior grade
From this reading “Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.”
give an incentive for action
From this reading ““Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.”
a flat float (usually made of logs or planks) that can be used for transport or as a platform for swimmers
From this reading “Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.”
plural of “shaving” — the act of removing hair with a razor
From this reading ““Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.”
English aeronautical engineer who invented the jet aircraft engine (1907-1996)
From this reading “A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.”
-ing form of “whittle” — cut small bits or pare shavings from
From this reading “Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.”
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 “Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.”
In this reading “A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.”
In this reading “A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.”
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 Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
a vehicle that can fly
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
(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 “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Jack loved to whittle.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
a person who holds a commissioned rank in the United States Navy or the United States Coast Guard; below lieutenant junior grade
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
and nothing more
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
held dear
From this reading But Jack loved to whittle.
engage in
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
on one occasion
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
give an incentive for action
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
a flat float (usually made of logs or planks) that can be used for transport or as a platform for swimmers
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
express in words
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
plural of “shaving” — the act of removing hair with a razor
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
a person, without saying who
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
put, fix, force, or implant
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Shavings—just shavings—that’s all,” had been his prompt reply.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
at the time that
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
English aeronautical engineer who invented the jet aircraft engine (1907-1996)
From this reading A strange place to whittle, one might say, on the deck of a great U. S. aircraft carrier in mid-Pacific.
-ing form of “whittle” — cut small bits or pare shavings from
From this reading Ensign Jack Steel sat on the edge of a life raft whittling a stick.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What do you make when you whittle?” someone once asked him.
Chapter 1 of Jet Plane Mystery by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 170 sentences of Jet Plane Mystery, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Jet Plane Mystery by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 170 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 Jet Plane Mystery by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5068 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57816 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57816, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 422 minutes of reading across 1014 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Jet Plane Mystery section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Jet Plane Mystery 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 Jet Plane Mystery, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
