Chapter 20 of The Flying Boys in the Sky is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter 20 of The Flying Boys in the Sky is here in full — 112 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE AEROPLANE DESTROYED. With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door. Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement. “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator. “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
Chapter 20 of The Flying Boys in the Sky is here in full — 112 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.
someone who operates an aircraft
From this reading ““What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.”
plural of “bit” — a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading ““De airyplane am smashed all to bits!”
spoiled or ruined or demolished
From this reading “THE AEROPLANE DESTROYED.”
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading “With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.”
English physician and scientist who described the circulation of the blood; he later proposed that all animals originate from an ovum produced by the female of the species (1578-1657)
From this reading “With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.”
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading “With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.”
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading “Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.”
very drunk
From this reading ““De airyplane am smashed all to bits!”
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 “With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.”
In this reading “Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.”
In this reading “Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.”
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.
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading THE AEROPLANE DESTROYED.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
(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 “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
someone who operates an aircraft
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
plural of “bit” — a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
confined by bonds
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
spoiled or ruined or demolished
From this reading THE AEROPLANE DESTROYED.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
the feeling of lively and cheerful joy
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
English physician and scientist who described the circulation of the blood; he later proposed that all animals originate from an ovum produced by the female of the species (1578-1657)
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
past form of “jerk” — pull, or move with a sudden movement
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
express in words
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
very drunk
From this reading “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Bohunkus Johnson stood before him, atremble with excitement.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE AEROPLANE DESTROYED.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “De airyplane am smashed all to bits!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With one bound Harvey Hamilton leaped out of bed and jerked open the door.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading “What is it you say?” demanded the young aviator.
Chapter 20 of The Flying Boys in the Sky by Edward Sylvester Ellis holds 112 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 20 holds 112 sentences of The Flying Boys in the Sky, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Flying Boys in the Sky by Edward Sylvester Ellis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 112 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 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 Flying Boys in the Sky by Edward Sylvester Ellis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3197 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50823 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50823, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 266 minutes of reading across 640 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Flying Boys in the Sky section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of The Flying Boys in the Sky 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 Flying Boys in the Sky, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
