Chapter 1 of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT. R.A.F. "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook. Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918. With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
Chapter 1 of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
wear away by rubbing
From this reading “Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.”
peninsula in northern Europe that forms the continental part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany
From this reading “With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.”
a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations
From this reading “"No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.”
United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990)
From this reading “BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT.”
examine or consider with attention and in detail
From this reading “"No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.”
plural of “pulse” — (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
From this reading “"No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.”
the process of showing signs of life
From this reading “"No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.”
having won
From this reading “Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading R.A.F.
(usually followed by “to”) having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
possessing life
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
a youthful male person
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT.
a degree on the Fahrenheit scale of temperature
From this reading BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT.
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
wear away by rubbing
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
peninsula in northern Europe that forms the continental part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
not any; not one
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
plural of “page” — one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990)
From this reading BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT.
examine or consider with attention and in detail
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
plural of “pulse” — (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
the process of showing signs of life
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading R.A.F.
a relationship between two lovers
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN LIEUT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
having won
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With Beatty off Jutland: A Romance of the Great Sea Fight.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading "No boy alive will be able to peruse Mr. Westerman's pages without a quickening of his pulses."--Outlook.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Winning his Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. The Thick of the Fray at Zeebrugge: April, 1918.
Chapter 1 of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman holds 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 149 sentences of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F., unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3687 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57056 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57056, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 307 minutes of reading across 738 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F. 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 Winning His Wings: A Story of the R.A.F., each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
