Chapter 16 of Looking Forward is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Looking Forward is here in full — 148 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ærial Navigation Solved. Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue." Ærial navigation perfected in 1925. The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan. Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
Chapter 16 of Looking Forward is here in full — 148 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 “Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.”
characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air
From this reading “Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."”
one of the five boroughs of New York City
From this reading “The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.”
great skillfulness and knowledge of some subject or activity
From this reading “Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."”
the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place
From this reading “Ærial Navigation Solved.”
third-person singular of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading “Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."”
(of plans, ideas, etc.) perfectly formed
From this reading “Ærial navigation perfected in 1925.”
explained or answered
From this reading “Ærial Navigation Solved.”
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 “Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.”
In this reading “Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.”
In this reading “The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ærial navigation perfected in 1925.
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
(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 Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
a low-lying region in central France
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ærial navigation perfected in 1925.
plural of “line” — a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
one of the five boroughs of New York City
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
great skillfulness and knowledge of some subject or activity
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
a republic in southern North America; became independent from Spain in 1810
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place
From this reading Ærial Navigation Solved.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
third-person singular of “obtain” — come into possession of
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
above and across; more than
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
(of plans, ideas, etc.) perfectly formed
From this reading Ærial navigation perfected in 1925.
a particular branch of scientific knowledge
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
explained or answered
From this reading Ærial Navigation Solved.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Science obtains mastery over the "ethereal blue."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
the capital of the United States in the District of Columbia and a tourist mecca; George Washington commissioned Charles L'Enfant to lay out the city in 1791
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading The name of New York city changed to that of Manhattan.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ærial Navigation Solved.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Washington, in the State of Mexico, becomes the centre of all airship or ærodrome lines.
Chapter 16 of Looking Forward by Arthur Bird holds 148 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 16 holds 148 sentences of Looking Forward, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Looking Forward by Arthur Bird exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 148 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 16 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 Looking Forward by Arthur Bird on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50148 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50148, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 190 minutes of reading across 458 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Looking Forward section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Looking Forward 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 Looking Forward, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
