Chapter XV of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, “Off for the Oil Fields,” is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XV
Chapter XV of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, “Off for the Oil Fields,” is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone. “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said. “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs. But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we? But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
Chapter XV of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, “Off for the Oil Fields,” is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading ““We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.”
an earnest and sincere feeling
From this reading “TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.”
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading “TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.”
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading ““We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.”
settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
From this reading “But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.”
male cat
From this reading “TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.”
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading “TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.”
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading ““Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.”
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 “But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?”
In this reading “But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?”
a familiar term of address for a man
In this reading ““Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.”
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 But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
(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 “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
a youthful male person
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
an earnest and sincere feeling
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
a boy or man
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
inflected form of “grin” — to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
in such a manner as could not be otherwise
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
Identical; not different.
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
From this reading But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
male cat
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
the quality of a person's voice
From this reading TOM GRINNED at the earnestness in Ned’s tone.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ll give all the attention to business that it needs.
at the time that
From this reading But that’s a matter that we can settle when we come to it.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading But if on the side we can at the same time help an old fellow along, why shouldn’t we?
afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief
From this reading “Don’t be worried, old boy,” he said.
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher by Victor Appleton holds 99 sentences, grouped into 20 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 15 holds 99 sentences of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 99 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
