Chapter XX
He replied: "I tell you that I have not. I am old because I never take air. There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe." I could not believe him. "You must surely have been married as well?
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1 / 5
He
replied:
"I
tell
you
that
I
have
not.
I
am
old
because
I
never
take
air.
There
is
nothing
that
vitiates
the
life
of
a
man
more
than
the
atmosphere
of
a
cafe."
I
could
not
believe
him.
"You
must
surely
have
been
married
as
well?
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
A Selection from the Writings of Guy De Maupassant, Vol. I
Chapter XX
Reading 1/37 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Line 1
He
replied:
"I
tell
you
that
I
have
not.
/hiː replied aɪ tell juː ðæt aɪ hæv nɑːt/
Line 2
I
am
old
because
I
never
take
air.
Line 3
There
is
nothing
that
vitiates
the
life
of
a
man
more
than
the
atmosphere
of
a
cafe."
Line 4
I
could
not
believe
him.
/aɪ kʊd nɑːt ˈbelieve hɪm/
Line 5
"You
must
surely
have
been
married
as
well?
Learner Dictionary
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
Because
conjunction
US /bɪˈkɔːz/
for the reason that
From this reading “I am old because I never take air.”
Been
auxiliary verb
US /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “"You must surely have been married as well?”
Believe
noun
US /ˈbelieve/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading “I could not believe him.”
Could
modal verb
US /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “I could not believe him.”
Have
auxiliary verb
US /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “He replied: "I tell you that I have not.”
Life
noun
US /life/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."”
Must
modal verb
US /mʌst/
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “"You must surely have been married as well?”
Never
noun
US /never/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “I am old because I never take air.”
Nothing
pronoun
US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."”
Replied
noun
US /replied/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “He replied: "I tell you that I have not.”
Take
noun
US /take/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “I am old because I never take air.”
Tell
noun
US /tell/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “He replied: "I tell you that I have not.”
Well
noun
US /well/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “"You must surely have been married as well?”
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.
adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
air
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am old because I never take air.
amauxiliary verbUS /æm/
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am old because I never take air.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "You must surely have been married as well?
atmosphere
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/
for the reason that
From this reading I am old because I never take air.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You must surely have been married as well?
believenounUS /ˈbelieve/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading I could not believe him.
cafe
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could not believe him.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
HepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
himpronounUS /hɪm/
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I could not believe him.
IpronounUS /aɪ/
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
lifenounUS /life/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
man
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
married
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You must surely have been married as well?
more
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "You must surely have been married as well?
nevernounUS /never/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading I am old because I never take air.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
old
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I am old because I never take air.
repliednounUS /replied/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
surely
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You must surely have been married as well?
takenounUS /take/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading I am old because I never take air.
tellnounUS /tell/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
There
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
vitiates
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There is nothing that vitiates the life of a man more than the atmosphere of a cafe."
well
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You must surely have been married as well?
youpronounUS /juː/
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He replied: "I tell you that I have not.