Chapter 18 of The Boys of the Wireless is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Boys of the Wireless is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“There’s another one—that makes six.” “Six what, Ben?” “Balloons.” Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed: “Oh, you mean toy balloons?”
Chapter 18 of The Boys of the Wireless is here in full — 153 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “balloon” — large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air
From this reading ““Balloons.””
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading ““Six what, Ben?””
a very small circular shape
From this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
the work of a sailor
From this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
very small
From this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading ““Oh, you mean toy balloons?””
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.
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
In this reading “Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:”
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 Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
by means of aircraft
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “There’s another one—that makes six.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
plural of “balloon” — large tough nonrigid bag filled with gas or heated air
From this reading “Balloons.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading “Six what, Ben?”
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
a very small circular shape
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “There’s another one—that makes six.”
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “Oh, you mean toy balloons?”
discovered or determined by scientific observation
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh, you mean toy balloons?”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “There’s another one—that makes six.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
the work of a sailor
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
in the direction of the sea
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading “There’s another one—that makes six.”
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “There’s another one—that makes six.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s another one—that makes six.”
very small
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
male cat
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading “Oh, you mean toy balloons?”
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Six what, Ben?”
in or at the place that
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Oh, you mean toy balloons?”
Chapter 18 of The Boys of the Wireless by Frank V. Webster holds 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 18 holds 153 sentences of The Boys of the Wireless, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Boys of the Wireless by Frank V. Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 153 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 18 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.
