Chapter 1 of The Phantom Airman is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Phantom Airman is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC. I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald II. The Wonder ’Plane III. "Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV. A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
Chapter 1 of The Phantom Airman is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.”
a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer
From this reading “"Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV.”
a conference (usually with someone important)
From this reading “A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.”
an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.”
(baseball) a hit that flies straight out from the batter
From this reading “A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.”
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading “A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.”
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading “The Wonder ’Plane III.”
a violent commotion or disturbance
From this reading “"Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV.”
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 A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
a pass to a receiver downfield from the passer
From this reading "Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
the people of Great Britain
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
a conference (usually with someone important)
From this reading A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
moving swiftly
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald II.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald II.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The Wonder ’Plane III.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading "Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV.
(baseball) a hit that flies straight out from the batter
From this reading A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading The Wonder ’Plane III.
the force of policemen and officers
From this reading "Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV.
a hilly forest region in southwestern Germany
From this reading I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald II.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading I. The Secret of the Schwarzwald II.
a violent commotion or disturbance
From this reading "Tempest" of the Aerial Police IV.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "DASTRAL OF THE FLYING CORPS," "DEVILLE McKEENE, THE BRITISH ACE," ETC, ETC.
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading A Midnight Consultation V. The Aerial Liner VI.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading The Wonder ’Plane III.
Chapter 1 of The Phantom Airman by Rowland Walker holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 423 sentences of The Phantom Airman, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Phantom Airman by Rowland Walker exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Phantom Airman by Rowland Walker on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2082 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43264 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43264, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 173 minutes of reading across 417 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Phantom Airman section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Phantom Airman 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 Phantom Airman, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
