Chapter 7 of Skyrider is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Skyrider is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bland Halliday looked at him queerly. "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly. "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak. Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack. And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
Chapter 7 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 “Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.”
the capacity to understand a broad range of topics
From this reading “And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."”
in a grim implacable manner
From this reading “"Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.”
possessive form of “hair” — a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading “And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."”
plural of “muscle” — one of the contractile organs of the body
From this reading “"I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.”
not tense or taut
From this reading “And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."”
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading “"I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.”
fasten with tacks
From this reading “Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.”
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 And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
anew
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
(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 And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
lacking taste or flavor or tang
From this reading Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.
the capacity to understand a broad range of topics
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
in a grim implacable manner
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
possessive form of “hair” — a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
go away from a place
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
plural of “muscle” — one of the contractile organs of the body
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
above and across; more than
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
in a strange manner
From this reading Bland Halliday looked at him queerly.
past form of “retort” — answer back
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
not tense or taut
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
hurting
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading "I'm so sore I can hear my muscles squeak.
occupy a large, elongated area
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
fasten with tacks
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Me, I'd call that riding, what we done," he retorted grimly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And be sure you don't leave a hair's breadth of slack anywheres, or it'll all have to come off and be done over again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, get down here and I'll show yuh how to stretch as yuh tack.
Chapter 7 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 7 holds 415 sentences of Skyrider, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 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 7 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.
