Chapter IV of The Boys of the Wireless, ““Donner”,” is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter IV of The Boys of the Wireless, ““Donner”,” is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement. “Don’t you see?” gasped Ben. “What?” “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!” “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
Chapter IV of The Boys of the Wireless, ““Donner”,” is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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 feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading ““Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.”
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading ““Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading ““Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading ““That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.”
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading ““One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!””
plural of “spook” — someone unpleasantly strange or eccentric
From this reading ““One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!””
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading ““Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.”
male cat
From this reading ““Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.”
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.
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
a form of address for a man
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
plural of “spook” — someone unpleasantly strange or eccentric
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading “Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
male cat
From this reading “Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
(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!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.
Chapter 4 of The Boys of the Wireless by Frank V. Webster holds 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 4 holds 89 sentences of The Boys of the Wireless, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Boys of the Wireless by Frank V. Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 4 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 Boys of the Wireless by Frank V. Webster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3128 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35044 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35044, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 260 minutes of reading across 626 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boys of the Wireless section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Boys of the Wireless 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 Boys of the Wireless, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
