Chapter 20 of The Dreadnought of the Air is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Dreadnought of the Air is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL. "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain. "It's easy to reconstruct the case. Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board. More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
Chapter 20 of The Dreadnought of the Air is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading “More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."”
a city in north central Mexico; mining center
From this reading “Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.”
involving risk or danger
From this reading “A HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL.”
something proposed (such as a plan or assumption)
From this reading “A HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL.”
reassemble mentally
From this reading “"It's easy to reconstruct the case.”
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading “More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."”
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading “"YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.”
past form of “stow” — fill by packing tightly
From this reading “More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."”
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 “"YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.”
hide aboard a ship or a plane to get free transportation
In this reading “More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."”
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
In this reading “Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.”
In this reading “More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."”
In this reading “Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.”
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 HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL.
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
a committee having supervisory powers
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
an occurrence of something
From this reading "It's easy to reconstruct the case.
not accessible to view
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
without stop or interruption
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
a city in north central Mexico; mining center
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading "It's easy to reconstruct the case.
one or the other of two
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
involving risk or danger
From this reading A HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
the activity of keeping something secret
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's easy to reconstruct the case.
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
the force of workers available
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
in other respects or ways
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
something proposed (such as a plan or assumption)
From this reading A HAZARDOUS PROPOSAL.
reassemble mentally
From this reading "It's easy to reconstruct the case.
in or at or to some place
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
a short high-pitched noise
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
past form of “stow” — fill by packing tightly
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading More than likely he was stowed away somewhere on the airship, otherwise Callaghan and the other men ought to have spotted him."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It's easy to reconstruct the case.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading Durango was either concealed in the woods or else hiding on board.
an affirmative
From this reading "YES, we've had a narrow squeak," continued the Captain.
Chapter 20 of The Dreadnought of the Air by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 20 holds 228 sentences of The Dreadnought of the Air, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Dreadnought of the Air by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 20 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 Dreadnought of the Air by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5673 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46117 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46117, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 472 minutes of reading across 1135 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dreadnought of the Air section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Dreadnought of the Air 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 Dreadnought of the Air, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
