Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Air Ship is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Air Ship is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A FOE IN THE AIR. "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot. No revolver had caused the report he had heard. From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired. A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Air Ship is here in full — 116 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
(Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another
From this reading “A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.”
a sheath worn to protect a finger
From this reading “"What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.”
becoming smaller or less or appearing to do so
From this reading “A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.”
an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading “A FOE IN THE AIR.”
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading “"What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “No revolver had caused the report he had heard.”
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading “From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.”
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading “"What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.”
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 “A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.”
on everybody's mind
In this reading “A FOE IN THE AIR.”
In this reading “A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.”
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 A FOE IN THE AIR.
having companions or an escort
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading A FOE IN THE AIR.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
(Genesis 11:1-11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (probably in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
past form of “cause” — give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
a sheath worn to protect a finger
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
becoming smaller or less or appearing to do so
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
having lost your job
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)
From this reading A FOE IN THE AIR.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A FOE IN THE AIR.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
not any; not one
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
with speed
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading No revolver had caused the report he had heard.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
plural of “sound” — the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading From the sound he knew that a rifle had been fired.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A FOE IN THE AIR.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is it?" asked Matt, struggling up on the cot.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading A babel of excited voices now came to him from without, accompanied by sounds of running feet diminishing rapidly in the distance.
Chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Air Ship by Stanley R. Matthews holds 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 12 holds 116 sentences of Motor Matt's Air Ship, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Motor Matt's Air Ship by Stanley R. Matthews exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 116 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 12 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 Motor Matt's Air Ship by Stanley R. Matthews on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2399 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47901 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47901, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 199 minutes of reading across 480 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Motor Matt's Air Ship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Motor Matt's Air Ship 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 Motor Matt's Air Ship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
