Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall. His brain was busy with many thoughts. At first he felt a spirit of elation. "A scar--a big scar," he murmured. "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck is here in full — 122 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading “His brain was busy with many thoughts.”
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “His brain was busy with many thoughts.”
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
From this reading “At first he felt a spirit of elation.”
hard tough wood of an elm tree; used for e.g. implements and furniture
From this reading “MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.”
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading “MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.”
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading “"A scar--a big scar," he murmured.”
a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
From this reading “"A scar--a big scar," he murmured.”
the act of searching for something
From this reading “MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.”
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 At first he felt a spirit of elation.
later than; following
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "A scar--a big scar," he murmured.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
hard tough wood of an elm tree; used for e.g. implements and furniture
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
be the source of pain
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading "A scar--a big scar," he murmured.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
cut with a saw
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue
From this reading "A scar--a big scar," he murmured.
the act of searching for something
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading At first he felt a spirit of elation.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
male cat
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
in the direction of
From this reading MORE SEEKING Tom Fairfield hurried on back toward Elmwood Hall.
except if; if not
From this reading "Then it couldn't have been him, unless he got hurt after I saw him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His brain was busy with many thoughts.
Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck by Allen Chapman holds 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 20 holds 122 sentences of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck by Allen Chapman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 122 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 20 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
