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A Study In Shadows
A Study In Shadows

Chapter X · A Touch of Nature

Cover illustration for A Study In Shadows
Context Illustration Reading 1/46 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.
The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.
His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.
The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.
It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.
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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 Study In Shadows

Chapter X · A Touch of Nature

Reading 1/46 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.
Line 2
The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.
Line 3
His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.
Line 4
The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.
Line 5
It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

Learner Dictionary

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

Another noun US /ˈanother/

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

From this reading “The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.”

Fine noun US /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.”

Mind noun US /mind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.”

Once noun US /once/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.”

Pipe noun US /pipe/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.”

Smoking noun US /ˈsmoking/

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

From this reading “Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.”

All words in this reading · 55

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 Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

all

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

anothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

aside

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

balanced

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

From this reading His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.

bed

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

characteristic

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

crowded

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

day

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

departure

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

disturbs

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

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

equilibrium

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

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

estimate

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

events

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

fast

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

finenounUS /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

going

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

importance

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

kiss

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

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

love

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

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

mindnounUS /mind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.

new

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

From this reading The first kiss of a new love disturbs fine equilibrium.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

once

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

perfectly

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

From this reading His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.

pipe

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

postpone

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

put

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

Raine

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

relative

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

sat

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

scarcely

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

smokingnounUS /ˈsmoking/

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

temptations

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

From this reading It was characteristic of him that he at once put aside all temptations to postpone his departure.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Raine sat smoking his pipe for a long time before going to bed.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading The events of the day had crowded so fast upon one another, that he had scarcely had time to estimate their relative importance.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading His mind was not yet perfectly balanced.