Chapter 21 of The Flying Boys in the Sky is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Flying Boys in the Sky is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A PUZZLING TELEGRAM. Harvey Hamilton was astounded. In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane. One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness. His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
Chapter 21 of The Flying Boys in the Sky is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “Harvey Hamilton was astounded.”
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading “His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.”
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading “Harvey Hamilton was astounded.”
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 “Harvey Hamilton was astounded.”
not clear to the understanding
From this reading “A PUZZLING TELEGRAM.”
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading “A PUZZLING TELEGRAM.”
a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
From this reading “One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.”
the quality of being truthful
From this reading “One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.”
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 “In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.”
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 PUZZLING TELEGRAM.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
deserving of the highest esteem or admiration
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
(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 In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading Harvey Hamilton was astounded.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
be false to; be dishonest with
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
Irish mathematician (1806-1865)
From this reading Harvey Hamilton was astounded.
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 Harvey Hamilton was astounded.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
not clear to the understanding
From this reading A PUZZLING TELEGRAM.
a message transmitted by telegraph
From this reading A PUZZLING TELEGRAM.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading In all his imaginings he had never dreamed of this explanation of the destruction of his aeroplane.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
the quality of being truthful
From this reading One admirable trait of the thick-witted Bohunkus Johnson was his truthfulness.
hard to endure
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Harvey Hamilton was astounded.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading His friend knew he was not trying to deceive him and what he had told could be accepted as fact.
Chapter 21 of The Flying Boys in the Sky by Edward Sylvester Ellis holds 115 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 21 holds 115 sentences of The Flying Boys in the Sky, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Flying Boys in the Sky by Edward Sylvester Ellis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 115 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 21 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.
