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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
againnounUS /again/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
all
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
always
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From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
aspect
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
atmosphere
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
beautiful
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From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
beauty
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
blackenedadjectiveUS /ˈblækənd/
made dark by burning or soot made dark by soot, burning, or black marks
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
boats
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
bridges
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
buried
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
city
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
dreariest
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
earth
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
fairy
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
gave
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
ghosts
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
gloomy
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
gold
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
gray
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
greatnounUS /great/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
Heaven
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
hills
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
ill-paved
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
important
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
irregular
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
lay
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
like
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
meltingnounUS /ˈmelting/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading It was a vast melting pot.
mist
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
moved
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From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
mystery
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
often
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
pot
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From this reading It was a vast melting pot.
powerful
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From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
railway
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
river
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
rose
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
shroud
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
significant
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
smoke
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
smoke-laden
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
softened
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
Sometimes
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From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
spectrally
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
steel
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
streets
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
sun
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
surrounding
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
suspended
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
tippednounUS /tipped/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/
in the direction of
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
towers
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes the softened towers of the great steel bridges rose above the river mist like fairy towers suspended between Heaven and earth.
turned
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From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
ugly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
vast
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was a vast melting pot.
walls
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
warehouses
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sometimes it was ugly, sometimes beautiful, but always the city was powerful, significant, important.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The city turned its dreariest aspect toward the railway on blackened walls, irregular and ill-paved streets, gloomy warehouses, and over all a gray, smoke-laden atmosphere which gave it mystery and often beauty.
whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/
during the time that
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
white
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading And again the sun tipped the surrounding hills with gold, while the city lay buried in its smoke shroud, and white ghosts of river boats moved spectrally along.
