Chapter 25 of Lightning Express is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of Lightning Express is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PRESIDENT IN TROUBLE. I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton. I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank. The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require. Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
Chapter 25 of Lightning Express is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
From this reading “I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.”
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading “The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.”
motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
From this reading “Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.”
befitting a man of good breeding
From this reading “The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.”
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading “Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.”
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
From this reading “I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.”
cause to become
From this reading “The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.”
share the feelings of; understand the sentiments of
From this reading “Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.”
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.
share the suffering of
In this reading “Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.”
In this reading “Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
a state at a particular time
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
the person who leads a musical group
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
motor that converts thermal energy to mechanical work
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
befitting a man of good breeding
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE PRESIDENT IN TROUBLE.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
an executive officer of a firm or corporation
From this reading THE PRESIDENT IN TROUBLE.
cause to become
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
done under pressure
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
dependable
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading I had seen the stout stranger pitch him down the bank.
share the feelings of; understand the sentiments of
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PRESIDENT IN TROUBLE.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
a source of difficulty
From this reading THE PRESIDENT IN TROUBLE.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading I had not waited to ascertain the condition of Tommy Toppleton.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading The gentlemanly conductor had rushed down after him, to render whatever assistance he might require.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Lewis Holgate had left the engine to sympathize with his powerful young friend.
Chapter 25 of Lightning Express by Oliver Optic holds 110 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 25 holds 110 sentences of Lightning Express, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of Lightning Express by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 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 25 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.
