Chapter XX of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, “Capping the Gusher,” is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XX
Chapter XX of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, “Capping the Gusher,” is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation. Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman. “There’s oil coming, and coming fast! Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!” The hissing sound grew louder.
Chapter XX of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, “Capping the Gusher,” is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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.
inflected form of “cap” — lie at the top of
From this reading “Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!””
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.”
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading “Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.”
a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
From this reading “The hissing sound grew louder.”
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “The hissing sound grew louder.”
gear consisting of ropes etc. supporting a ship's masts and sails
From this reading “Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!””
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.”
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading “Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.”
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 “The hissing sound grew louder.”
In this reading “The hissing sound grew louder.”
In this reading “FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.”
temporarily
In this reading “FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.”
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 FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “There’s oil coming, and coming fast!
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
inflected form of “cap” — lie at the top of
From this reading Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “There’s oil coming, and coming fast!
fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “There’s oil coming, and coming fast!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
a person who exercises control over workers
From this reading Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!”
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading The hissing sound grew louder.
a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)
From this reading The hissing sound grew louder.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
full of life and energy
From this reading Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!”
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading The hissing sound grew louder.
the force of workers available
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
a particular point in time
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!”
A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.
From this reading “There’s oil coming, and coming fast!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!”
gear consisting of ropes etc. supporting a ship's masts and sails
From this reading Get the capping rigging ready, men, and move lively!”
marked by absence of sound
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The hissing sound grew louder.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s oil coming, and coming fast!
look attentively
From this reading Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading FOR A moment the men about the well stared at one another in silent consternation.
in a vehement outcry
From this reading Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.
used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action
From this reading Then, “Watch yourselves!” yelled the foreman.
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher by Victor Appleton holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 20 holds 71 sentences of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Swift and his great oil gusher by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 20 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Tom Swift and his great oil gusher, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
