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A golden thread
A golden thread

Chapter X

Cover illustration for A golden thread
Context Illustration Reading 1/19 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Lost Niece.
"I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?
What 'shall' I do?"
Little Cissie sobbed out the words.
And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.
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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 golden thread

Chapter X

Reading 1/19 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Lost Niece.
Line 2
"I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?
Line 3
What 'shall' I do?"
/wʌt ʃæl aɪ duː/
Line 4
Little Cissie sobbed out the words.
Line 5
And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

Learner Dictionary

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

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Little Cissie sobbed out the words.”

Nobody pronoun US /ˈnoʊbɑːdiː/

no person; not anyone

From this reading “"I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?”

Shall modal verb US /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading “"I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?”

All words in this reading · 36

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

almost

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

Cissie

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

From this reading Little Cissie sobbed out the words.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

cry

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

Eileen

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

go

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

I'VE

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

LittlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Little Cissie sobbed out the words.

Lost

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

From this reading The Lost Niece.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

Niece

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

From this reading The Lost Niece.

nobodypronounUS /ˈnoʊbɑːdiː/

no person; not anyone

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

Nora

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

nowhere

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

oh

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

out

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

From this reading Little Cissie sobbed out the words.

ready

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

sobbed

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

From this reading Little Cissie sobbed out the words.

sympathy

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

tenderhearted

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Lost Niece.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

very

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

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

wants

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

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "I'VE nowhere to go, and nobody wants me—oh, what shall I do?

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading And Eileen and Nora, who were both as tenderhearted as could be, were almost ready to cry for very sympathy.

words

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

From this reading Little Cissie sobbed out the words.