Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat is here in full — 96 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear. "Hello! Hello!" he cried into the transmitter. "Yes, this is Mr. Swift--yes, Garret. What is it?"
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat is here in full — 96 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.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading “"Yes, this is Mr. Swift--yes, Garret.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “"Hello!”
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading “NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.”
larceny by threat of violence
From this reading “NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.”
moving very fast
From this reading “NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.”
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading “NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.”
someone who transmits a message
From this reading “Hello!" he cried into the transmitter.”
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.”
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 NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Hello!" he cried into the transmitter.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
floor consisting of open space at the top of a house just below roof; often used for storage
From this reading "Yes, this is Mr. Swift--yes, Garret.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
an expression of greeting
From this reading "Hello!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Hello!" he cried into the transmitter.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Yes, this is Mr. Swift--yes, Garret.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
a form of address for a man
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
information about recent and important events
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
set that receives radio or tv signals
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
larceny by threat of violence
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
only a very short time before
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
moving very fast
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Yes, this is Mr. Swift--yes, Garret.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
someone who transmits a message
From this reading Hello!" he cried into the transmitter.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What is it?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading NEWS OF A ROBBERY With a hand that trembled so he could scarcely hold the receiver of the telephone, Mr. Swift placed it to his ear.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, this is Mr. Swift--yes, Garret.
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat by Victor Appleton holds 96 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 20 holds 96 sentences of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Boat by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 96 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 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.
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, unabridged. 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.
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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 Motor-Boat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
