Chapter 18 of Tom Swift and His Airship is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Tom Swift and His Airship is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant. There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon. The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously. "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend. "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
Chapter 18 of Tom Swift and His Airship is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 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.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading “The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.”
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading “There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.”
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading “Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.”
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading “There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.”
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading “The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.”
a building where people go to eat
From this reading “Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.”
the act of vindicating or defending against criticism or censure etc.
From this reading “Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.”
a woman waiter
From this reading “The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.”
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 "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
(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 "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
past form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
a form of address for a man
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
a building where people go to eat
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
except for; apart from
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
not in physical motion
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
carry out
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
male cat
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
the act of vindicating or defending against criticism or censure etc.
From this reading Back For Vindication Tom glanced around the restaurant.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
a woman waiter
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The pretty waitress was still regarding the two curiously.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were few persons in it save himself and Mr. Damon.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "We ought to take that paper along with us, to show to Mr. Sharp," said Tom, in a low voice to his friend.
but in spite of that
From this reading "I haven't had time to take it all in myself, yet.
Chapter 18 of Tom Swift and His Airship by Victor Appleton holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 18 holds 129 sentences of Tom Swift and His Airship, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Tom Swift and His Airship by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Swift and His Airship by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3029 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3005 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3005, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 252 minutes of reading across 606 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and His Airship section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and His Airship 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 Airship, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
