Chapter 2 of The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS. “Hullo! What’s that?” Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently. Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
Chapter 2 of The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship is here in full — 114 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose
From this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
From this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
a thin layer covering something
From this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
past form of “crawl” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
more than is needed, desired, or required
From this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
with strained or eager attention
From this reading “Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.”
metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid
From this reading “Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.”
not permitting the passage of water
From this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
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 “Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.”
In this reading “Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.”
put down in writing; of texts, musical compositions, etc.
In this reading “Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.”
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 SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
the act of bringing something to bear; using it for a particular purpose
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
the lower side of anything
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
a thin layer covering something
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
past form of “crawl” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
psychological suffering
From this reading A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
more than is needed, desired, or required
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
an expression of greeting
From this reading “Hullo!
with strained or eager attention
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
a small worthless amount
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
make a painting
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message
From this reading A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading What’s that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
male cat
From this reading Tom set down his paint pot and listened intently.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
not permitting the passage of water
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What’s that?”
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jack crawled out from under the bottom of the _Wondership_ which he had been coating with an extra application of waterproof bronze.
Chapter 2 of The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship by Richard Bonner holds 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 2 holds 114 sentences of The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship by Richard Bonner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 114 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 2 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 The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship by Richard Bonner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2943 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53712 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53712, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 245 minutes of reading across 589 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Boy Inventors' Flying 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 The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
