Chapter 19 of Lightning Express is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of Lightning Express is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A TYRANNICAL SON. “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier. “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me. “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.” “O, no!
Chapter 19 of Lightning Express is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading ““Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.”
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading ““I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.”
having lost your job
From this reading ““I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.””
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading ““I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.””
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading ““I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading ““I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.”
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading ““I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.””
marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior
From this reading “A TYRANNICAL SON.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A TYRANNICAL SON.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
having lost your job
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
not any; not one
From this reading “O, no!
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading “O, no!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
by chance
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
a platform built out from the shore into the water and supported by piles; provides access to ships and boats
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
cut with a saw
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time
From this reading “I shall be discharged from my situation, and perhaps be driven out of Middleport.”
a male human offspring
From this reading A TYRANNICAL SON.
express a supposition
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I suppose my time is out, Miss Toppleton,” said I to Grace, as I saw the big major and the little major approaching the pier.
marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior
From this reading A TYRANNICAL SON.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Your time out?” she replied, looking anxiously at me.
Chapter 19 of Lightning Express by Oliver Optic holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 109 sentences of Lightning Express, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 of Lightning Express by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 Lightning Express by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3354 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76892 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76892, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 279 minutes of reading across 671 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lightning Express section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of Lightning Express 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 Lightning Express, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
