Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car. The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up. He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's. "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?" "No," answered the youth.
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout is here in full — 142 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
side by side
From this reading “He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.”
form a curve
From this reading “ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “"Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"”
the operator of a motor vehicle
From this reading “The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.”
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading “He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.”
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
From this reading “He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.”
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “"Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"”
-ing form of “tour” — make a tour of a certain place
From this reading “ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.”
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 driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
at or in the front
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
side by side
From this reading He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading "No," answered the youth.
any thing at all
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
form a curve
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
the operator of a motor vehicle
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
the organ of sight
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
not any; not one
From this reading "No," answered the youth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.
express in words
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
the evasion of work or duty
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
carry out
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
From this reading He ran his machine up alongside of Tom's.
plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
-ing form of “tour” — make a tour of a certain place
From this reading ANDY FOGER'S BLACK EYE Around the bend came the six-cylinder touring car.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The driver, with a surprised look on his face, was slacking up.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Say," he asked, in dazed tones, "did you take a short cut, or anything like that to get ahead of me?"
a young person (especially a young man or boy)
From this reading "No," answered the youth.
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout by Victor Appleton holds 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 15 holds 142 sentences of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 142 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 15 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 Runabout by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3026 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #950 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #950, 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 Electric Runabout section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout 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 Runabout, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
