Chapter 6 of Skyrider is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Skyrider is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily. "What you got?" "Hunh? What kind of a plane? Why, it's a tractor.
Chapter 6 of Skyrider is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
lacking taste or flavor or tang
From this reading “"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.”
plural of “brain” — that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading “"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.”
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading “"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.”
past form of “exhale” — expel air
From this reading “"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.”
most important element
From this reading “"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.”
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading “What kind of a plane?”
a wheeled vehicle with large wheels; used in farming and other applications
From this reading “Why, it's a tractor.”
flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes
From this reading “"No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.”
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 "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
later than; following
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
lacking taste or flavor or tang
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
plural of “brain” — that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
past form of “comment” — make or write a comment on
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
in a dreamy manner
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
past form of “exhale” — expel air
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
a contest with rules to determine a winner
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "What you got?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Hunh?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why, it's a tractor.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading What kind of a plane?
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
most important element
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
not any; not one
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading What kind of a plane?
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
a wheeled vehicle with large wheels; used in farming and other applications
From this reading Why, it's a tractor.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What you got?"
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, it's a tractor.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
flower arrangement consisting of a circular band of foliage or flowers for ornamental purposes
From this reading "No brains--that's the main trouble with the game," commented Bland Halliday, after he had exhaled a long, thin wreath of smoke which he watched dreamily.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "What you got?"
Chapter 6 of Skyrider by B. M. Bower holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 6 holds 415 sentences of Skyrider, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Skyrider by B. M. Bower exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 6 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 Skyrider by B. M. Bower on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4564 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16871 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16871, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 380 minutes of reading across 913 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Skyrider section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Skyrider 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 Skyrider, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
