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Tom Swift and His Airship
Tom Swift and His Airship

Chapter VIII · Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Airship is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Tom Swift and His Airship
Context Illustration Reading 1/31 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.
"Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."
"No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.
"We had the fun."
And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Tom Swift and His Airship

Chapter VIII · Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Airship is here in full — 155 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.
/ˈwɪnɪŋ ə praɪz wel tɑːm wʌt ˈhæpənd æskt ˈmɪstər ʃɑːrp æz hiː sɔː ðə ˈtriːoʊ ˈrʌnɪŋ əˈweɪ/
Line 2
"Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."
/lʊks æz ɪf juː hæd hæd æn ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ taɪm hiːr/
Line 3
"No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.
Line 4
"We had the fun."
/wiː hæd ðə fʌn/
Line 5
And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.
/ənd ðə tuː lædz prəˈsiːdɪd tuː rɪˈleɪt wʌt hæd ˈteɪkən pleɪs/

Learner Dictionary

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.

exciting adjective US /ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ/

creating or arousing excitement

From this reading “"Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."”

fun noun US /fʌn/

activities that are enjoyable or amusing

From this reading “"We had the fun."”

lads noun US /lædz/

plural of “lad” — a boy or man

From this reading “And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.”

Prize noun US /praɪz/

something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery

From this reading “Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.”

proceeded verb US /prəˈsiːdɪd/

past form of “proceed” — continue talking

From this reading “And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.”

relate verb US /rɪˈleɪt/

make a logical or causal connection

From this reading “And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.”

trio noun US /ˈtriːoʊ/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading “Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.”

Winning adjective US /ˈwɪnɪŋ/

having won

From this reading “Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.”

All words in this reading · 42

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

askedverbUS /æskt/

past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

awayadverbUS /əˈweɪ/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

declaredadjectiveUS /dɪˈklerd/

made known or openly avowed

From this reading "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

excitementnounUS /ɪkˈsaɪtmənt/

the feeling of lively and cheerful joy

From this reading "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

excitingadjectiveUS /ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ/

creating or arousing excitement

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

fellowsnounUS /ˈfeloʊz/

plural of “fellow” — a boy or man

From this reading "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

funnounUS /fʌn/

activities that are enjoyable or amusing

From this reading "We had the fun."

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

happenedverbUS /ˈhæpənd/

past form of “happen” — come to pass

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

hereadverbUS /hiːr/

in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

ladsnounUS /lædz/

plural of “lad” — a boy or man

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

LooksnounUS /lʊks/

plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

MrnounUS /ˈmɪstər/

a form of address for a man

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

Ned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

placenounUS /pleɪs/

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

PrizenounUS /praɪz/

something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

proceededverbUS /prəˈsiːdɪd/

past form of “proceed” — continue talking

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

relateverbUS /rɪˈleɪt/

make a logical or causal connection

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

runningadjectiveUS /ˈrʌnɪŋ/

(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

sawverbUS /sɔː/

cut with a saw

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

SharpadjectiveUS /ʃɑːrp/

(of something seen or heard) clearly defined

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

takenadjectiveUS /ˈteɪkən/

understood in a certain way; made sense of

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading "No, those fellows had all the excitement," declared Ned.

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

TomnounUS /tɑːm/

male cat

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

trionounUS /ˈtriːoʊ/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

twonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading And the two lads proceeded to relate what had taken place.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading "We had the fun."

WelladverbUS /wel/

(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 Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

WinningadjectiveUS /ˈwɪnɪŋ/

having won

From this reading Winning a Prize "Well, Tom, what happened?" asked Mr. Sharp, as he saw the trio running away.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Looks as if you had had an exciting time here."

Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Airship by Victor Appleton holds 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

What does chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Airship contain?

Chapter 8 holds 155 sentences of Tom Swift and His Airship, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Airship by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 155 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

How do I study chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Airship?

Work through the 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 31 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.

Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 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.

Questions about reading Tom Swift and His Airship

Common questions about reading Tom Swift and His Airship by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Tom Swift and His Airship?

Yes. All 3029 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3005 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Tom Swift and His Airship is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3005, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Tom Swift and His Airship take to read?

About 252 minutes of reading across 606 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Tom Swift and His Airship section by section

How to work through Tom Swift and His Airship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and His Airship to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Tom Swift and His Airship

Words and structures a reader meets early in Tom Swift and His Airship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Ready
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tom Swift and His Airship; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Sharp
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tom Swift and His Airship; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Replied
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tom Swift and His Airship; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Young
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tom Swift and His Airship; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.