Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road. "You look as though you had some object in view." "So I have, dad. I'm going over to Lanton." "To Lanton?
Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat is here in full — 144 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.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “"So I have, dad.”
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading “"You look as though you had some object in view."”
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading “"Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.”
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “"Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.”
moving very fast
From this reading “"Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.”
male cat
From this reading “"Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.”
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading “"You look as though you had some object in view."”
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading “"Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.”
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading "So I have, dad.
the act of departing
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "So I have, dad.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "So I have, dad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm going over to Lanton."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm going over to Lanton."
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
above and across; more than
From this reading I'm going over to Lanton."
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So I have, dad.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
a male human offspring
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
moving very fast
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I'm going over to Lanton."
male cat
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
in the direction of
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading "You look as though you had some object in view."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
in or at the place that
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "Where are you going, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton Swift of his son as the young man was slowly pushing his motor-cycle out of the yard toward the country road.
Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat by Victor Appleton holds 144 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 1 holds 144 sentences of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 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 1 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 Motor-Boat by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3028 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2273 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2273, 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 Motor-Boat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and His Motor-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 Motor-Boat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
