Chapter 33 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ANOTHER PLOT. "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son. "He must be a splendid rider." "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper. "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
Chapter 33 of Tom, The Bootblack is here in full — 120 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 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.
made afraid
From this reading “"He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “"So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.”
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading “"So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.”
an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
From this reading “"I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.”
understood perfectly
From this reading “"So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.”
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading “ANOTHER PLOT.”
a traveler who actively rides an animal (as a horse or camel)
From this reading “"He must be a splendid rider."”
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading “"He must be a splendid rider."”
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.
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 "He must be a splendid rider."
Having no one else present.
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading ANOTHER PLOT.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "He must be a splendid rider."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
made afraid
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
a Stuart king of Scotland who married a daughter of Henry VII; when England and France went to war in 1513 he invaded England and died in defeat at Flodden (1473-1513)
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
understood perfectly
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "He must be a splendid rider."
not any; not one
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)
From this reading ANOTHER PLOT.
a traveler who actively rides an animal (as a horse or camel)
From this reading "He must be a splendid rider."
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
a male human offspring
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
having great beauty and splendor
From this reading "He must be a splendid rider."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "He sat like a rock, and did not seem in the least frightened."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I had no idea he was so used to horses," said Jasper.
at the time that
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "So he mastered Bucephalus," said James Grey, when alone with his son.
Chapter 33 of Tom, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger holds 120 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 33 holds 120 sentences of Tom, The Bootblack, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of Tom, The Bootblack by Horatio, Jr. Alger exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 120 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 33 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.
