Updated for October 2026. Jamie has a dream: to build a machine that can take him into the sky. But with failed attempts behind him and little encouragement at home, will his determination be enough? The Flying Machine is a short story for English language learners and teachers, with reading comprehension, vocabulary and discussion activities to develop language skills. Read the story, explore the questions and download the complete lesson plan for classroom teaching or independent study.
- What is a flying machine?
- Would you like to build your own flying machine?
- If you could, where would you fly to?
Video for Listening
Follow the complete lesson as I teach the story step by step.
The lesson includes vocabulary, reading comprehension questions, model answers, and discussion questions, making it ideal for teachers, students, and self-study.
The Flying Machine
Jamie flinched as the screwdriver slipped and dug into his hand.
He cursed quietly to himself.
“I told you.”
He resisted the temptation to turn and look over his shoulder. It would just start another argument.
“You’ll never get that damn thing off the ground.”
Jamie threw the screwdriver into the toolbox, wiped the spot of blood from his hand on his jeans and stepped back.
His machine didn’t look so bad. He was getting there. Making progress.
He nodded at his own handiwork.
It had taken him the last six months to get this far. A couple of failed attempts and then he had to start from scratch again.
But that was fine. He could deal with it.
It was the only thing that kept him sane since leaving college. His one year on an engineering course. Forced to leave because he didn’t have the money to continue.
What he couldn’t deal with was the look on his mother’s face when he went back into the house.
“I keep telling you, but you don’t listen,” she said. “You will never get that damn thing off the ground. Might as well try to dig for oil.”
Jamie stared ahead, willing himself not to look at her.
The first machine was a failure. No doubt about that.
It moved forward. That was no problem.
He just couldn’t get the machine airborne.
No use building a flying machine unless it could fly. If it stays on the ground… it’s a ground machine.
Nothing more, nothing less.
But the second one. Well, that was something else.
That did get off the ground. Twice, in fact.
The first flight was brief — very short — but he managed to stay in the air for a couple of seconds.
The second flight was longer — almost half a minute. But then it nosedived to the ground and the whole machine just smashed into pieces.
Jamie was lucky he didn’t break his neck.
But even as he lay on the bed at night, his body aching from being thrown to the ground, he had a great moment of pride.
He had succeeded. He had built a flying machine.
Now all he had to do was perfect it. Make it better, improve it and build a flying machine.
One that can fly without careering to the ground.
Jamie picked up the towel hanging off one of the side rails of his machine. He wiped his hands.
The sun was going down. Better to call it a day and make a fresh start tomorrow.
His mother called out from the doorway leading into the house.
“Giving up, huh?”
He didn’t say a word. Walked in and went to the bathroom to wash up and get dinner ready.
In the kitchen, he prepared the food. Cutting the vegetables and preparing the chicken that he had bought that morning at the market.
Over dinner, he sat opposite his mother as they ate.
“So tell me, Jamie, when do you plan to start flying again?”
His mother had been drinking. Not as bad as some of the other nights. But to say she had been in her cups would be an understatement.
She lowered her head and sniggered into her hands.
“Just tell me what time lift-off happens,” she said. “I have to see it.”
Jamie smiled back at her.
“Might be tomorrow,” he said.
His mother held her hands up.
“Oh, it speaks.” She gave a quiet laugh. “Sure. Anything you say.”
Later that evening, Jamie was hunched over the same table. All the dishes were cleaned and put away in the kitchen. And in their place, his plans for the flying machine.
He made calculations of how much work he needed to do.
If he could get through the day without any interruptions, then it looked like he could do a test flight the day after.
Things were looking good.
Jamie turned off the lights and went to bed. As he lay down, he dreamed of taking off in his flying machine. Taking off and flying away.
He awoke the next morning as the cockerel outside crowed.
He pulled the sheets away and got dressed. Opening the curtains, he saw the sun just rising. And down below his beautiful machine.
Today he would finish it.
In the kitchen, Jamie made some coffee. He sipped from his cup as he stood on the back step of his house. In his mind, he went over the things he had to work on.
A great feeling of confidence washed over him. He knew he would finish this today. He felt certain of it.
Throughout the morning, he worked hard on his machine. His hands flew over the tools and it felt like no effort at all.
It was like he was coming to the end of it, and his mind and hands knew exactly what to do.
“You’re wasting your damn time.”
It was his mother. He half-turned his head to see her standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall.
“I keep telling you — you’ll never get that damn thing off the ground.”
Jamie couldn’t help but look at her.
“Actually, I will,” he said. “Today is the day when I take the first flight with my new machine.”
His mother let out a laugh.
“Don’t be so damn stupid. You could kill yourself. Like you nearly did last time.”
Jamie shook his head.
“No. I will fly today. And you are welcome to come with me if you want.”
His mother shook her head and told him she had no intention of getting into his stupid machine. She disappeared back into the house.
Jamie worked through the rest of the day.
Finally, it was ready.
He couldn’t wait to try it out.
He got into the seat and started the engine. It burst into life with a loud, spluttering sound. He pulled at the throttle and the engine revved loudly, filling the air with a thunderous rhythm.
His mother appeared in the doorway, a look of shock on her face.
“Jamie! What are you doing?”
He turned to her and smiled. Then he released the handbrake and pulled at the throttle. The machine moved forward.
Jamie steered it into the street and revved the engine again.
Then, with one last pull on the throttle, Jamie drove his flying machine at full speed down the road.
Reading Comprehension Questions
- Who is the main character in the story?
- What does he have in his hand?
- What is he doing?
- What happened to his hand?
- How long has Jamie been working on his project?
- What subject did he study before?
- How long did he study?
- Why did he stop studying?
- Who is talking to Jamie?
- What does Jamie’s mother believe he will never do?
- Was his first machine a failure or a success?
- What is Jamie trying to do with his machine?
- Did Jamie succeed in getting the second machine to fly?
- How long was the longest flight with the second machine?
- Did Jamie hurt himself?
- What feeling did Jamie have after flying the second machine?
- What time of day is it at this point in the story?
- Does Jamie continue working?
- What does Jamie plan to do inside the house?
- What does Jamie do in the kitchen?
- What does he plan to make for dinner?
- Is his mother drunk?
- What does she want to know from Jamie?
- When does Jamie say he will fly his machine?
- What does he do later in the evening?
- What does he dream of while lying in bed?
- What wakes Jamie up the next morning?
- What does he see outside the window?
- What does he drink for breakfast?
- What kind of feeling does he have at this point in the story?
- What does Jamie do all morning?
- Does his mother believe in Jamie?
- What does Jamie believe?
- How does his mother respond to Jamie’s belief in flying his machine?
- Does he invite her to go with him?
- Does she wish to join him?
- What does Jamie do while sitting inside his flying machine?
- Does his flying machine make a loud or quiet noise?
- What expression does Jamie give to his mother?
- Where does he go?
Essential Vocabulary
flinched | engineering | wasting |
screwdriver | failure | intention |
cursed | aching | stupid |
temptation | pride | disappeared |
argument | perfect | engine |
machine | lift-off | spluttering |
progress | interruptions | throttle |
handiwork | cockerel | revved |
attempts | confidence | handbrake |
street | airborne |
Exercise
There may be a lot of new or unfamiliar vocabulary to you in the story. This is the perfect time to get to know these new and strange words and phrases.
Write down all the new words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look up the meaning of the new vocabulary in a dictionary or online and write down the meaning next to the word or phrase.
It should look something like this:
Flinched – Past tense of flinch. To make a sudden, small movement, usually because of fear, pain, surprise, or discomfort.
Engineering – The application of scientific and mathematical principles to design, develop, and maintain structures, machines, systems, and processes.
Then write a sentence of your own that uses the new word or phrase correctly.
When the loud noise startled her, she flinched and covered her ears.
He studied engineering at university and now designs bridges and buildings.
If you do this correctly, it will help you learn many new words and phrases. This will build your English vocabulary and writing down all the words and phrases, and making sentences of your own, will all help you to remember all of this new vocabulary.
Discussion Questions
- What did you think of this story?
- Is it a story of hope? Or failure?
- What kind of person is Jamie? Describe him in your own words.
- What kind of person is his mother?
- What happened when Jamie went to university?
- Why did he leave?
- How do you think he felt about it?
- What do you think of Jamie’s home life?
- Why is he building a flying machine?
- What does he want to do with it?
- Why does his mother drink so much?
- Is she happy, do you think?
- Would you like to build a flying machine?
- Would you like to just fly away somewhere?
- Where would you go?
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