Chapter 12 of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk. "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle. There'll be trouble soon!" "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon. "Why?
Chapter 12 of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle is here in full — 107 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
From this reading “"Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
ammunition consisting of a cylindrical casing containing an explosive charge and a bullet; fired from a rifle or handgun
From this reading “"Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading “"Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading “"Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.”
five-toed pachyderm
From this reading “ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.”
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading “"Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading “ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.”
someone who hunts game
From this reading “ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There'll be trouble soon!"
endless loop of flexible material between two rotating shafts or pulleys
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
give a benediction to
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
small room on a ship or boat where people sleep
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
ammunition consisting of a cylindrical casing containing an explosive charge and a bullet; fired from a rifle or handgun
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.
using or providing or producing or transmitting or operated by electricity
From this reading "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.
five-toed pachyderm
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
every person
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
plural of “gun” — a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
someone who hunts game
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
go away from a place
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr. Damon.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
steal goods; take as spoils
From this reading "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.
in the near future
From this reading There'll be trouble soon!"
moving very fast
From this reading "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There'll be trouble soon!"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
male cat
From this reading "Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
a source of difficulty
From this reading There'll be trouble soon!"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why?
in the company of; together with
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL "Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as he prepared to leave the cabin of the Black Hawk.
Chapter 12 of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle by Victor Appleton holds 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 12 holds 107 sentences of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 107 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 12 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 Electric Rifle by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2533 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3777 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3777, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 211 minutes of reading across 507 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle 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 Electric Rifle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
