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A Chambermaid's Diary
A Chambermaid's Diary

Chapter XII

Cover illustration for A Chambermaid's Diary
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.
"Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.
One may chance on astonishing places."
I believed it.
And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

A Chambermaid's Diary

Chapter XII

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.
Line 2
"Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.
Line 3
One may chance on astonishing places."
Line 4
I believed it.
Line 5
And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.”

Comrades noun US /ˈkɑːmrædz/

people who share difficult work or danger, especially soldiers

From this reading “Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.”

Distress noun US /dɪˈstrɛs/

extreme sadness or suffering

From this reading “And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.”

Feeling noun US /ˈfeeling/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “One may chance on astonishing places."”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “One may chance on astonishing places."”

Several noun US /ˈseveral/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.”

All words in this reading · 51

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

astonishing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading One may chance on astonishing places."

believed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I believed it.

booby

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

box

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

chance

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading One may chance on astonishing places."

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

comradesnounUS /ˈkɑːmrædz/

people who share difficult work or danger, especially soldiers

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

countesses

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

dear

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

distressnounUS /dɪˈstrɛs/

extreme sadness or suffering

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

feelingnounUS /ˈfeeling/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

happy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I believed it.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

Lady

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

marchionesses

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading One may chance on astonishing places."

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading One may chance on astonishing places."

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading One may chance on astonishing places."

only

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

OurdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

people

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

places

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading One may chance on astonishing places."

Pont-Croix

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

remembered

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

seems

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

Several

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

sisters

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

some

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

Sorrows

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

spent

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

spoken

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

swell

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

Thirty-Six

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

times

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Several times comrades had spoken to me of the sisters of Our Lady of Thirty-Six Sorrows.

very

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

years

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading And then, in my distress, I remembered with some feeling, booby that I am, the happy years that I spent with the little sisters of Pont-Croix.

Yes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "Yes, my dear, it seems that only very swell people come to the box,... countesses,... marchionesses.