Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade. Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist. A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen! Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive. He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung is here in full — 103 sentences across 21 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/20 · 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 sudden minor shock or meaningless interruption
From this reading “A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!”
plural of “earphone” — electro-acoustic transducer for converting electric signals into sounds; it is held over or inserted into the ear
From this reading “A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.”
scraped or touched lightly in passing
From this reading “He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.”
a small explosive bomb thrown by hand or fired from a missile
From this reading “A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.”
inflected form of “gun” — shoot with a gun
From this reading “Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.”
make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
From this reading “A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.”
a particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons
From this reading “Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.”
marked with or as if with stripes or linear discolorations
From this reading “He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.”
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 LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
the event of one object coming closer to another
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
make a strident sound
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
a sudden minor shock or meaningless interruption
From this reading A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
past form of “dart” — move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
operate or control a vehicle
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
plural of “earphone” — electro-acoustic transducer for converting electric signals into sounds; it is held over or inserted into the ear
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
scraped or touched lightly in passing
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
a small explosive bomb thrown by hand or fired from a missile
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
inflected form of “gun” — shoot with a gun
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
a particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!
occurring by chance
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
in motion
From this reading A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!
in spite of what has just been said
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
a course of conduct
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
past form of “push” — move with force
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing
From this reading A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
marked with or as if with stripes or linear discolorations
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
very small
From this reading A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
male cat
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
possessive form of “tom” — male cat
From this reading A LUCKY BLAST Tom's earphones caught the hiss of the approaching grenade.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A tiny blip of light was moving on the screen!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He pushed out of the path of the grenade, which nevertheless grazed him as it streaked past.
past form of “whirl” — turn in a twisting or spinning motion
From this reading Tom whirled about, then gunned his ion drive.
a joint between the distal end of the radius and the proximal row of carpal bones
From this reading Instantly his eyes darted to the sonarscope on his wrist.
Chapter 20 of Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung by Victor, II Appleton holds 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 103 sentences of Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung, unabridged, divided into 21 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung by Victor, II Appleton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 103 sentences, grouped into 21 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 21 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 21 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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How to work through Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 the Electronic Hydrolung, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
