Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys in the Clouds is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys in the Clouds is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_. The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house. The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before. “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry. “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys in the Clouds is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading “NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.”
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading “The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.”
any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
From this reading ““Shall I let go some of the ballast?””
(astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
a disorderly outburst or tumult
From this reading “NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.”
operate an airplane
From this reading “The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.”
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading “NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.”
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.
expect or hope for
In this reading “The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.”
In this reading “The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.”
In this reading ““Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.”
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 NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
on a ship, train, plane or other vehicle
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
(astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
a disorderly outburst or tumult
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
without stop or interruption
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
the condition of being susceptible to harm or injury
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
a form of address for a man
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
operate an airplane
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
with speed
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The airship continued to descend, but not so rapidly as before.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading “Shall I let go some of the ballast?”
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
in or at that place or location
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading NODDY’S PLOT Instantly there was a commotion aboard the _Comet_.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Are we--is there any danger?” cried Jerry.
in or at the place that
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The boys started to their feet, and with fear in their eyes looked forward to where Mr. Glassford stood in the small pilot house.
Chapter 16 of The Motor Boys in the Clouds by Clarence Young holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 16 holds 168 sentences of The Motor Boys in the Clouds, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Motor Boys in the Clouds by Clarence Young exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 16 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 Motor Boys in the Clouds by Clarence Young on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3627 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45326 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45326, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 302 minutes of reading across 726 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Motor Boys in the Clouds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Motor Boys in the Clouds 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 Motor Boys in the Clouds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
