Chapter 10 of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service is here in full — 152 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AN UNEXPECTED HAPPENING. “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie. The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly. They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully. The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
Chapter 10 of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service is here in full — 152 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.
muscular and heavily built
From this reading “The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.”
a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun
From this reading ““Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.”
deep ditch cut by running water (especially after a prolonged downpour)
From this reading “They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.”
an event that happens
From this reading “AN UNEXPECTED HAPPENING.”
characterized by enmity or ill will
From this reading “They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.”
plural of “meeting” — a formally arranged gathering
From this reading “They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.”
not expected or anticipated
From this reading “AN UNEXPECTED HAPPENING.”
a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
From this reading ““Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.”
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 “The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.”
In this reading “The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.”
In this reading “The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.”
In this reading “The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.”
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 “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
move forward, also in the metaphorical sense
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED HAPPENING.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
muscular and heavily built
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
constituting the full quantity or extent; complete
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
considered likely or probable to happen or arrive
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
deep ditch cut by running water (especially after a prolonged downpour)
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
an event that happens
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED HAPPENING.
cause to move by striking
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
characterized by enmity or ill will
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
plural of “meeting” — a formally arranged gathering
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
the force of workers available
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
and nothing more
From this reading They had expected only hostile meetings in the gully.
a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
plural of “stranger” — anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading The men smiled at the evident surprise of the boys and pushed the burly prisoner on in advance.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
not expected or anticipated
From this reading AN UNEXPECTED HAPPENING.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
From this reading “Hit me a clip on the wrist and wake me up!” exclaimed Jimmie.
but in spite of that
From this reading The three men were entire strangers to the boys, and yet they appeared to be friendly.
Chapter 10 of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service by Frank Walton holds 152 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 10 holds 152 sentences of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service by Frank Walton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 152 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 10 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 Machine Boys on Secret Service by Frank Walton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3469 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50824 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50824, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 289 minutes of reading across 694 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service 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 Machine Boys on Secret Service, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
