Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly. "Short circuit!" gasped Tom. "Run on storage battery! I'll have to see to that. Take the wheel somebody!"
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading “"Run on storage battery!”
in a breathless manner
From this reading “THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.”
an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow
From this reading “"Short circuit!" gasped Tom.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Short circuit!" gasped Tom.”
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading “THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.”
the act of storing something
From this reading “"Run on storage battery!”
plural of “stowaway” — a person who hides aboard a ship or plane in the hope of getting free passage
From this reading “THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.”
change directions as if revolving on a pivot
From this reading “Take the wheel somebody!"”
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.
group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
From this reading "Run on storage battery!
in a breathless manner
From this reading THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow
From this reading "Short circuit!" gasped Tom.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Short circuit!" gasped Tom.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I'll have to see to that.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll have to see to that.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "Run on storage battery!
recurring again and again
From this reading THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading "Run on storage battery!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I'll have to see to that.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading "Short circuit!" gasped Tom.
a person, without saying who
From this reading Take the wheel somebody!"
the act of storing something
From this reading "Run on storage battery!
plural of “stowaway” — a person who hides aboard a ship or plane in the hope of getting free passage
From this reading THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
carry out
From this reading Take the wheel somebody!"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I'll have to see to that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE STOWAWAYS Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I'll have to see to that.
male cat
From this reading "Short circuit!" gasped Tom.
change directions as if revolving on a pivot
From this reading Take the wheel somebody!"
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship by Victor Appleton holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 119 sentences of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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.
Common questions about reading Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3260 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1281 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1281, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 271 minutes of reading across 652 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship 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 Swift and His Aerial Warship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
