Questions about a passage

[failexam]

"IN THE PREDAWN DARKNESS OF AUGUST 26, 1929, IN THE back bedroom of a small house in Torrance, California, a twelve-year-old boy sat up in bed, listening. There was a sound coming from outside, growing ever louder. It was a huge, heavy rush, suggesting immensity, a great parting of air. It was coming from directly above the house. The boy swung his legs off his bed, raced down the stairs, slapped open the back door, and loped onto the grass. The yard was otherworldly, smothered in unnatural darkness, shivering with sound. The boy stood on the lawn beside his older brother, head thrown back, spellbound.

The sky had disappeared. An object that he could see only in silhouette, reaching across a massive arc of space, was suspended low in the air over the house. It was longer than two and a half football fields and as tall as a city. It was putting out the stars."

Please help with the questions I have about this passage:

1. What does the writer mean by 'In the predawn darkness of ...'?
2. 'a twelve-year-old boy sat up in bed, listening': Would something have been wrong if we didn't include the word 'up' after 'sat'? 'listening' ? What was he listening to?
3. 'growing ever louder': Why has the writer put in the word 'ever'?
4. ' It was a huge, heavy rush, suggesting immensity, a great parting of air': I don't really understand.
5. ' The boy swung his legs off his bed, raced down the stairs, slapped open the back door, and loped onto the grass': What does 'swung his legs off', 'raced down', 'slapped open' and 'loped onto' mean?
5. ' The yard was otherworldly, smothered in unnatural darkness, shivering with sound': What does 'otherwordly', 'smothered in unnatural darkness' and 'shivering with sound' mean?
6. ' The boy stood on the lawn beside his older brother, head thrown back, spellbound.': What does 'head thrown back' and 'spellbound' mean?
7. 'The sky had disappeared': What does it mean?
8. 'An object that he could see only in silhouette, reaching across a massive arc of space, was suspended low in the air over the house' : What does 'only in silhouette', 'reaching across a massive arc of space' and 'suspended low in the air' mean?
9. 'It was longer than two and a half football fields and as tall as a city': What does 'as tall as a city' mean?
10. 'It was putting out the stars': what does this mean?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[PeterL]

1. What does the writer mean by 'In the predawn darkness of ...'?

That means that the Sun had not risen, and it showed me that you are not a native user of the English language.


2. 'a twelve-year-old boy sat up in bed, listening': Would something have been wrong if we didn't include the word 'up' after 'sat'? 'listening' ? What was he listening to?

Adding the "up" suggests that the boy suddenly sat up, rather than that he was just sitting there. He listened to whatever sound there was.


3. 'growing ever louder': Why has the writer put in the word 'ever'?

Adding the "ever" was not necessary, but it suggests that the loudness was continuing to increase.


4. ' It was a huge, heavy rush, suggesting immensity, a great parting of air': I don't really understand.

If you haven't heard the sound of something huge approaching, then you wouldn't understand this, but it is like the sound of the air going by one's ears when one runs but louder.


5. ' The boy swung his legs off his bed, raced down the stairs, slapped open the back door, and loped onto the grass': What does 'swung his legs off', 'raced down', 'slapped open' and 'loped onto' mean?

He was sitting on the bed, then he turned and let his legs swing down to theward the floor. "Raced" just means that he went quickly. "Slapped open" means that he pushed the door open. "Loped" means ran.



5. ' The yard was otherworldly, smothered in unnatural darkness, shivering with sound': What does 'otherwordly', 'smothered in unnatural darkness' and 'shivering with sound' mean?

That means that the yard was dark in a way that was unusual, not dark as it would look in an ordinary night.


6. ' The boy stood on the lawn beside his older brother, head thrown back, spellbound.': What does 'head thrown back' and 'spellbound' mean?

"Head thrown back" means that he was looking upward with his head bent backward. "Spellbound" means rapt or fascinated.


7. 'The sky had disappeared': What does it mean?

Rather than seeing the night sky, there was something in the way so that the sky was not visible.


8. 'An object that he could see only in silhouette, reaching across a massive arc of space, was suspended low in the air over the house' : What does 'only in silhouette', 'reaching across a massive arc of space' and 'suspended low in the air' mean?

A " silhouette" is a black on white outline of something. "Reaching across a massive arc of space" means that it covered a large part of the sky. "Suspended low in the air" means that it was not distant.


9. 'It was longer than two and a half football fields and as tall as a city': What does 'as tall as a city' mean?

That means that it was big.


10. 'It was putting out the stars': what does this mean?

That means that he couldn't see the stars.

You might want to start using dictionary.com, but some of these figurative expressions can only be learned through using the language.