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A Strange Story — Volume 08
A Strange Story — Volume 08

Chapter II

Cover illustration for A Strange Story — Volume 08
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.
She was in tears.
She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.
However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.
I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.
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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 Strange Story — Volume 08

Chapter II

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.
Line 2
She was in tears.
Line 3
She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.
Line 4
However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.
Line 5
I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

Learner Dictionary

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

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.”

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.”

However adverb US /ˌhaʊˈevər/

used to add a contrasting statement

From this reading “However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.”

Rest noun US /rest/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.”

Waiting noun US /ˈwaiting/

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

From this reading “I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.”

All words in this reading · 48

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 I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

alarm

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

Ashleigh

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

begun

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

best

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

chamber

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

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

despond

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

disguised

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

Faber

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

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

fears

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

few

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

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

HoweveradverbUS /ˌhaʊˈevər/

used to add a contrasting statement

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

infected

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

Lilian's

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

minutes

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

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

Mrs

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

own

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

participation

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

persuaded

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

recovery

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

restnounUS /rest/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

retire

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

saw

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

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She was in tears.

sitting-room

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

soothed

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

sought

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

From this reading I saw Faber for a few minutes before I sought my own chamber.

sustained

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

From this reading However, I disguised my participation in her fears, soothed and sustained her as I best could, and persuaded her to retire to rest.

tears

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

From this reading She was in tears.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.

usual

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

waiting

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

From this reading I found Mrs. Ashleigh waiting for me in our usual sitting-room.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading She was in tears.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading She had begun to despond of Lilian's recovery, and she infected me with her own alarm.