Chapter 3 of Tom Swift and his flying boat is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Tom Swift and his flying boat is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?” Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh. “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me? I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune. We were both young men then.”
Chapter 3 of Tom Swift and his flying boat 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.
give a benediction to
From this reading “AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?””
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading “Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.”
any federal law-enforcement officer
From this reading “I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.”
come to pass
From this reading ““Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?”
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading “I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.”
suffering from lack of food
From this reading “I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.”
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading ““Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.”
In this reading “AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?””
In this reading “We were both young men then.””
In this reading ““Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?”
keep in mind for attention or consideration
In this reading “AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?””
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 “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
give a benediction to
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
the two together, not just one
From this reading We were both young men then.”
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
any federal law-enforcement officer
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
come to pass
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
a native or inhabitant of Iceland
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
past form of “imagine” — form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
being deepest within the self
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
the sound of laughing
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
go away from a place
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
the force of workers available
From this reading We were both young men then.”
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Damon demanded, and burst into another great laugh.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
possessing material wealth
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
suffering from lack of food
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
superlative of “strange” — being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading We were both young men then.”
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
precisely as stated
From this reading “Isn’t it a fact that the very strangest things happen to me?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were both young men then.”
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were both young men then.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
at the time that
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I never imagined that day when I fed that starving Icelander that he was rich and would die and leave me a fortune.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading AMAN DELE “Now, bless my inmost thoughts! what do you think of that?”
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading We were both young men then.”
Chapter 3 of Tom Swift and his flying boat by Victor Appleton holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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.
Chapter 3 holds 119 sentences of Tom Swift and his flying boat, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Tom Swift and his flying boat by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the 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 3 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 flying boat by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3237 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70182 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #70182, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 269 minutes of reading across 648 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and his flying boat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and his flying boat 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 flying boat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
