Chapter 1 of Then luck came in is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Then luck came in is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man. Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better. Now he was nearing the end of his Army career. The sergeant had wanted to fly. He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
Chapter 1 of Then luck came in is here in full — 219 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
used improperly or excessively especially drugs
From this reading “An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.”
the aggregation of a country's military aircraft
From this reading “An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.”
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading “Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.”
-ing form of “near” — move towards
From this reading “Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.”
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading “An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.”
any activity that is performed alone without assistance
From this reading “He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.”
a period of time during which there is armed conflict
From this reading “Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.”
past form of “yearn” — desire strongly or persistently
From this reading “An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.”
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 An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
used improperly or excessively especially drugs
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
later than; following
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
the aggregation of a country's military aircraft
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
moving swiftly
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
-ing form of “near” — move towards
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Now he was nearing the end of his Army career.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
any activity that is performed alone without assistance
From this reading He wanted to go solo and do his own birding.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading The sergeant had wanted to fly.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
a period of time during which there is armed conflict
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Wartime flying had not used him any too well; nor had after the war aviation done any better.
which person or people
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
past form of “yearn” — desire strongly or persistently
From this reading An Aviation Sergeant Who Yearned To Fly The sergeant was a much abused man.
Chapter 1 of Then luck came in by Andrew A. (Andrew Augustine) Caffrey holds 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 219 sentences of Then luck came in, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Then luck came in by Andrew A. (Andrew Augustine) Caffrey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 219 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Then luck came in by Andrew A. (Andrew Augustine) Caffrey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 219 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73525 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73525, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 18 minutes of reading across 44 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Then luck came in section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Then luck came in 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 Then luck came in, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
