Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon. "This is terrible!" The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale. "Can't something be done, Tom?" "What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera is here in full — 125 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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 steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading “The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.”
a slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain
From this reading “SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading “SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
(Greek mythology) a wise old counselor to the Greeks at Troy
From this reading “"What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.”
-ing form of “plunge” — thrust or throw into
From this reading “The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.”
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
-ing form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.”
measuring instrument for measuring temperature
From this reading “SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
a steerable self-propelled aircraft
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
a slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Can't something be done, Tom?"
give a benediction to
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Can't something be done, Tom?"
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.
the friend of Phintias who pledged his life that Phintias would return (4th century BC)
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "Can't something be done, Tom?"
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
past form of “gasp” — breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "This is terrible!"
a form of address for a man
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
(Greek mythology) a wise old counselor to the Greeks at Troy
From this reading "What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.
-ing form of “plunge” — thrust or throw into
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "Can't something be done, Tom?"
-ing form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading "This is terrible!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
measuring instrument for measuring temperature
From this reading SNAPPING AN AVALANCHE "Bless my thermometer!" gasped Mr. Damon.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "This is terrible!"
male cat
From this reading "Can't something be done, Tom?"
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The airship was plunging and swaying about in the awful gale.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What has happened?" cried Mr. Nestor.
Chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera by Victor Appleton holds 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 15 holds 125 sentences of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera by Victor Appleton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 125 sentences, grouped into 25 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 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 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 15 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
