Chapter 8 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT. Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman. "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter. "I want some clo'es." "Then you've come to the right place.
Chapter 8 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 117 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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 covering designed to be worn on a person's body
From this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading “"Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.”
a movement into or inward
From this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
regarded with great favor, approval, or affection especially by the general public
From this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
a man salesperson
From this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.”
not held or filled or in use
From this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.”
a teenager or a young adult male
In this reading “"Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.”
In this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
In this reading “Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.”
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 THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
a youthful male person
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I want some clo'es."
a covering designed to be worn on a person's body
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Then you've come to the right place.
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon
From this reading THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.
a movement into or inward
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
the act of forming or establishing something
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I want some clo'es."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "Then you've come to the right place.
regarded with great favor, approval, or affection especially by the general public
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Then you've come to the right place.
a man salesperson
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "I want some clo'es."
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE EFFECT OF A NEW SUIT.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then you've come to the right place.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Then you've come to the right place.
male cat
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
not held or filled or in use
From this reading Tom bent his steps in the direction of a large and popular clothing establishment, and, entering, looked about for an unoccupied salesman.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "I want some clo'es."
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Then you've come to the right place.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading "Well, boy, what's wanted?" asked a young man behind the counter.
Chapter 8 of Tom, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 8 holds 117 sentences of Tom, The Bootblack, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Tom, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 117 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4823 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26355 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26355, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 401 minutes of reading across 965 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom, The Bootblack section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 37 chapters of Tom, The Bootblack 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, The Bootblack, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
