Chapter 3 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room. All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well. Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings. Bruce heard them, and smiled. "Come!" he invited with a laugh.
Chapter 3 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
a town in southwestern Vermont
From this reading “All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.”
Australian physician and bacteriologist who described the bacterium that causes undulant fever or brucellosis (1855-1931)
From this reading “All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.”
plural of “gasp” — a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading “Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.”
past form of “invite” — increase the likelihood of
From this reading “"Come!" he invited with a laugh.”
plural of “muttering” — a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading “Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.”
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading “All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.”
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
From this reading “HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.”
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 HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
a town in southwestern Vermont
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
cause to be bored
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
Australian physician and bacteriologist who described the bacterium that causes undulant fever or brucellosis (1855-1931)
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come!" he invited with a laugh.
opinion or judgment
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
(of a number) having a fixed and unchanging value
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
plural of “gasp” — a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Come!" he invited with a laugh.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Bruce heard them, and smiled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
past form of “invite” — increase the likelihood of
From this reading "Come!" he invited with a laugh.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
the sound of laughing
From this reading "Come!" he invited with a laugh.
plural of “muttering” — a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
the act of examining something closely (as for mistakes)
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Bruce heard them, and smiled.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Bruce heard them, and smiled.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
in or at that place or location
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Then came gasps of surprise, and one or two mutterings.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading HOW SAM TOLD IT For a few seconds there was silence in Tom's room.
(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 All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All eyes were fixed on Bruce Bennington, but the latter bore the scrutiny well.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Come!" he invited with a laugh.
Chapter 3 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck by Allen Chapman holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 3 holds 199 sentences of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck by Allen Chapman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 3 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 Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck by Allen Chapman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3184 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14083 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14083, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 265 minutes of reading across 637 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck 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 Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
