Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"BEWARE OF THE COMET!" "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?" Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench. "This is my latest invention, Ned. Come on in."
Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading “Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.”
be on one's guard; be cautious or wary about; be alert to
From this reading “"BEWARE OF THE COMET!"”
a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
From this reading “Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.”
(astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
From this reading “"BEWARE OF THE COMET!"”
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading “"This is my latest invention, Ned.”
up to the immediate present; most recent or most up-to-date
From this reading “"This is my latest invention, Ned.”
English mathematician and physicist; remembered for developing the calculus and for his law of gravitation and his three laws of motion (1642-1727)
From this reading “Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.”
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 Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
a long seat for more than one person
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
be on one's guard; be cautious or wary about; be alert to
From this reading "BEWARE OF THE COMET!"
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come on in."
(astronomy) a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit
From this reading "BEWARE OF THE COMET!"
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
the creation of something in the mind
From this reading "This is my latest invention, Ned.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is my latest invention, Ned.
up to the immediate present; most recent or most up-to-date
From this reading "This is my latest invention, Ned.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "This is my latest invention, Ned.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
English mathematician and physicist; remembered for developing the calculus and for his law of gravitation and his three laws of motion (1642-1727)
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "BEWARE OF THE COMET!"
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Come on in."
above and across; more than
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
do one's shopping
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "BEWARE OF THE COMET!"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is my latest invention, Ned.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
male cat
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
(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 "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
which person or people
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Ned Newton peered in the window of the shop at his chum, who was busy over a bench.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well, Tom, what are you up to now?"
Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight by Victor Appleton holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 8 holds 205 sentences of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 8 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 Great Searchlight by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3120 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4635 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4635, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 260 minutes of reading across 624 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight 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 Great Searchlight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
