Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 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 Motor-Cycle is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger. No one was to be seen. "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom. "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods. If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
fearless and daring
From this reading “A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.”
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.”
unproductive of success
From this reading “A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.”
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading “"I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.”
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading “A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.”
plural of “reach” — the limits within which something can be effective
From this reading “If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."”
past form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading “A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.”
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 “A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.”
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 A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
at or in the front
From this reading "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading No one was to be seen.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
fearless and daring
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
plural of “building” — a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
unproductive of success
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
not any; not one
From this reading No one was to be seen.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one was to be seen.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
plural of “reach” — the limits within which something can be effective
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading No one was to be seen.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
an instance of visual perception
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
past form of “speed” — move hurridly
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
in or at that place or location
From this reading If he reaches there he has a good chance of getting away."
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No one was to be seen.
male cat
From this reading A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
precisely as stated
From this reading "He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No one was to be seen.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading "I ought to catch him before he gets to the woods.
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 A FRUITLESS PURSUIT Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings, looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger.
Chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle by Victor Appleton holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 77 sentences of Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Motor-Cycle by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2983 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4230 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4230, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 248 minutes of reading across 597 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle 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-Cycle, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
