Chapter 1 of The Ghost of Mystery Airport is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Ghost of Mystery Airport is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?" "Not a bit!" Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner. Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm. "I'm scared!"
Chapter 1 of The Ghost of Mystery Airport is here in full — 90 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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 city in northeastern Ohio; the heart of the United States rubber industry
From this reading “The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"”
old fashioned airplane; has two wings one above the other
From this reading “Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.”
a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
From this reading “Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.”
compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
From this reading “Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.”
United States dancer and pioneer of modern dance (1878-1927)
From this reading “Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.”
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"”
operate an airplane
From this reading “Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.”
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading “The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"”
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.
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 "Not a bit!"
a city in northeastern Ohio; the heart of the United States rubber industry
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
old fashioned airplane; has two wings one above the other
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading "Not a bit!"
make calm or still
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
neither warm nor very cold; giving relief from heat
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
past form of “display” — to show, make visible or apparent
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
United States dancer and pioneer of modern dance (1878-1927)
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm scared!"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
and nothing more
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
not one, and not any
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not a bit!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
operate an airplane
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
the business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
made afraid
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Behind him in the three-place open cockpit biplane, his thirteen-year-old chum displayed none of his calm.
characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
occurring or encountered or experienced or observed frequently or in accordance with regular practice or procedure
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
which person or people
From this reading Garry Duncan, just behind the pilot who had asked the question, answered it in his usual, cool manner.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading The Saalfield Publishing Company Akron, Ohio New York Made in the United States of America "Scared?"
Chapter 1 of The Ghost of Mystery Airport by Van Powell holds 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 1 holds 90 sentences of The Ghost of Mystery Airport, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Ghost of Mystery Airport by Van Powell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 90 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 1 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 Ghost of Mystery Airport by Van Powell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3725 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46656 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46656, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 310 minutes of reading across 745 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ghost of Mystery Airport section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Ghost of Mystery Airport 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 Ghost of Mystery Airport, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
