Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 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 Wizard Camera is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Take your hand off my shoulder! You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!" This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant. "Humph! I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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.
physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination
From this reading “You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.”
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading “You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"”
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading “This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.”
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading “I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.”
with low volume
From this reading “I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.”
someone who visits
From this reading “This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.”
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.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
physically or spiritually devastating; often used in combination
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
inflected form of “grab” — take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Take your hand off my shoulder!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Humph!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Take your hand off my shoulder!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Take your hand off my shoulder!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading Take your hand off my shoulder!
with low volume
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
carry out
From this reading Take your hand off my shoulder!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
male cat
From this reading I guess Koku must have grabbed him," said Tom softly.
someone who visits
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This was evidently the visitor remonstrating with the giant.
in the company of; together with
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Take your hand off my shoulder!
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading You're crushing me with those big fingers of yours!"
Chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera by Victor Appleton holds 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 1 holds 177 sentences of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Wizard Camera by Victor Appleton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3172 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1283 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1283, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 264 minutes of reading across 635 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera 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 Wizard Camera, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
