Chapter 7 of Wings Over England is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Wings Over England is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself. “What had happened?” As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.” Next instant he spotted the Whistler. Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
Chapter 7 of Wings Over England is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading “Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.”
put to death as punishment
From this reading “Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.”
possessive form of “fiddler” — a musician who plays the violin
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading “Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.”
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading “Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.”
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading “Next instant he spotted the Whistler.”
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading “Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.”
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading “Next instant he spotted the Whistler.”
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 “Next instant he spotted the Whistler.”
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 Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
anew
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
put to death as punishment
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
opinion or judgment
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
possessive form of “fiddler” — a musician who plays the violin
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “What had happened?”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “What had happened?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
From this reading Next instant he spotted the Whistler.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
roused to anger
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading Next instant he spotted the Whistler.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
past form of “right” — make reparations or amends for
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading Next instant he spotted the Whistler.
having a supporting base
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
possessing sweep
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
precisely as stated
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Right on the tail of a plane, he was at that very instant gripping the firing button.
suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What had happened?”
turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
make whistling sounds
From this reading As his eyes swept the sky he heard again that weird whistle, the Fiddler’s, doing “Londonderry Air.”
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading Next instant he spotted the Whistler.
a movable organ for flying (one of a pair)
From this reading Standing on one wing, he executed a mad whirl, then righted himself.
Chapter 7 of Wings Over England by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 7 holds 432 sentences of Wings Over England, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Wings Over England by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 7 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 Wings Over England by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3452 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49131 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49131, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 287 minutes of reading across 691 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wings Over England section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Wings Over England 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 Wings Over England, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
