Chapter 19 of Back at School with the Tucker Twins is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Back at School with the Tucker Twins is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SANTA CLAUS. "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning. "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired." "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you. You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
Chapter 19 of Back at School with the Tucker Twins is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading “"I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."”
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading “"Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.”
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading “You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.”
the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading “"Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.”
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action
From this reading “"Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.”
in the right manner; correctly; suitably
From this reading “"I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."”
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading “SANTA CLAUS.”
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “"Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.”
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 “"Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.”
In this reading “"Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.”
used with question words to convey surprise
In this reading “"Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.”
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 "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SANTA CLAUS.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
the attire worn in a play or at a fancy dress ball
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
put on clothes
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
the act of departing
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
not any; not one
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
an act of formulating a program for a definite course of action
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
in the right manner; correctly; suitably
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
From this reading SANTA CLAUS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
past form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
except if; if not
From this reading "I have no idea of playing Santa Claus unless I am properly attired."
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading You are going to be beautiful, you vain, conceited piece!" exclaimed Dee.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Oh, we stayed awake half the night planning a costume for you.
(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 "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, what on earth are you schemers going to dress me in?" demanded Zebedee at breakfast the next morning.
Chapter 19 of Back at School with the Tucker Twins by Nell Speed holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 19 holds 156 sentences of Back at School with the Tucker Twins, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Back at School with the Tucker Twins by Nell Speed exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 19 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 Back at School with the Tucker Twins by Nell Speed on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3077 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36089 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36089, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 256 minutes of reading across 616 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Back at School with the Tucker Twins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Back at School with the Tucker Twins 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 Back at School with the Tucker Twins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
