Chapter 1 of The Man Who Flew is here in full — 354 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Man Who Flew is here in full — 354 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR. The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime! Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal. The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage. A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.
Chapter 1 of The Man Who Flew is here in full — 354 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1922)
From this reading “BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR.”
causing dejection
From this reading “Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.”
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading “The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.”
inflected form of “scurry” — to move about or proceed hurriedly
From this reading “A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.”
lacking brightness or color; dull
From this reading “The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.”
a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
From this reading “The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.”
plural of “vehicle” — a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading “A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.”
the human face (“kisser” and “smiler” and “mug” are informal terms for “face” and “phiz” is British)
From this reading “The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.”
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 shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.”
In this reading “Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.”
In this reading “A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.”
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 The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a particular cause, action, or attitude
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
United States dancer and choreographer (born in 1922)
From this reading BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR.
causing dejection
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
have an existence, be extant
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading BY CHARLES D. CUNNINGHAM, JR.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
in an anxiously nervous manner
From this reading A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
above and across; more than
From this reading Clouds hung low over the city, gray and dismal.
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
(especially of incident sound or light) bent or sent back
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
inflected form of “scurry” — to move about or proceed hurriedly
From this reading A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
lacking brightness or color; dull
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.
a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
plural of “vehicle” — a conveyance that transports people or objects
From this reading A few vehicles scurried nervously through the city.
the human face (“kisser” and “smiler” and “mug” are informal terms for “face” and “phiz” is British)
From this reading The shining metal thruway partially reflected their somber visage.
which person or people
From this reading The Man Who Flew could not exist--but he had committed a foul crime!
Chapter 1 of The Man Who Flew by Charles D. Cunningham holds 354 sentences, grouped into 71 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 354 sentences of The Man Who Flew, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Man Who Flew by Charles D. Cunningham exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 354 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 Man Who Flew by Charles D. Cunningham on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 354 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61271 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61271, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 29 minutes of reading across 71 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Man Who Flew section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Man Who Flew 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 Man Who Flew, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
