Chapter 18 of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless. Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move. Then he sprang to the portal. “Stop!” he commanded. “I demand that this nonsense cease.
Chapter 18 of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading “THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading ““I demand that this nonsense cease.”
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading ““Stop!” he commanded.”
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading ““I demand that this nonsense cease.”
the entering of a legal document into the public record
From this reading “Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.”
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.”
a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically)
From this reading “Then he sprang to the portal.”
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.
temporarily
In this reading “THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.”
In this reading “Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.”
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 THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “I demand that this nonsense cease.
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading “Stop!” he commanded.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
an urgent or peremptory request
From this reading “I demand that this nonsense cease.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
the entering of a legal document into the public record
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I demand that this nonsense cease.
engage in
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
a particular point in time
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
not in physical motion
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
a message that seems to convey no meaning
From this reading “I demand that this nonsense cease.
a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically)
From this reading Then he sprang to the portal.
someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
(used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Then he sprang to the portal.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Stop!” he commanded.
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “I demand that this nonsense cease.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STRIKE For a moment amazement held Professor Skeel motionless.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he sprang to the portal.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “I demand that this nonsense cease.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Several boys were filing through the door before he could manage to make a move.
Chapter 18 of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays by Allen Chapman holds 125 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 18 holds 125 sentences of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays by Allen Chapman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 125 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 18 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 Schooldays by Allen Chapman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3550 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43796 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43796, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 295 minutes of reading across 710 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Fairfield's Schooldays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Fairfield's Schooldays 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 Schooldays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
