Chapter XV of King of the Air, “View Halloo!,” is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter XV of King of the Air, “View Halloo!,” is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was. No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended. As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived. “Not asleep, Dorrell?” Tom grunted, but did not stir.
Chapter XV of King of the Air, “View Halloo!,” is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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 complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading “No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.”
past form of “deceive” — be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.”
past form of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.”
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading “Tom grunted, but did not stir.”
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.”
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.”
move an implement through
From this reading “Tom grunted, but did not stir.”
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
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 “No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.”
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 Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.
in a state of sleep
From this reading “Not asleep, Dorrell?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Tom grunted, but did not stir.
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
past form of “deceive” — be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.
past form of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Tom grunted, but did not stir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Not asleep, Dorrell?”
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
divisible by two
From this reading As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
past form of “grunt” — issue a grunting, low, animal-like noise
From this reading Tom grunted, but did not stir.
past form of “guess” — expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.
not any; not one
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Not asleep, Dorrell?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
move an implement through
From this reading Tom grunted, but did not stir.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As the minutes passed, even Oliphant was deceived.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
male cat
From this reading Tom grunted, but did not stir.
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading No one could have guessed from Tom’s easy attitude that he was thinking out a problem on which lives depended.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Oliphant sat with his knees up, looking at his friend, thinking what a cool hand he was.
Chapter 15 of King of the Air by Herbert Strang holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 15 holds 159 sentences of King of the Air, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of King of the Air by Herbert Strang exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 15 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 King of the Air by Herbert Strang on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3425 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36443 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36443, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 285 minutes of reading across 685 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through King of the Air section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of King of the Air 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 King of the Air, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
