Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Adela Cathcart, Volume 1
Adela Cathcart, Volume 1

Chapter III

Cover illustration for Adela Cathcart, Volume 1
Context Illustration Reading 1/71 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Christmas dinner.
Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.
Indeed, they were both in mourning.
Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.
The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Adela Cathcart, Volume 1

Chapter III

Reading 1/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Christmas dinner.
Line 2
Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.
Line 3
Indeed, they were both in mourning.
Line 4
Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.
Line 5
The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

Learner Dictionary

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

Behind preposition US /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading “The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.”

Body noun US /body/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.”

All words in this reading · 69

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 Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

accompanies

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

arrived

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

benevolent

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

black

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

Bloomfield

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

bodynounUS /body/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

bore

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

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading Indeed, they were both in mourning.

cap

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

Christmas

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

From this reading The Christmas dinner.

curls

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

dinner

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

From this reading The Christmas dinner.

foolish

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

former

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

grace

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

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

grey-haired

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

half-grey

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Indeed, they were both in mourning.

inclined

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

Indeed

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

From this reading Indeed, they were both in mourning.

just

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

kind

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

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

large

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

latter

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

malconformation

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

man

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

middle-aged

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

more

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

mourning

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

From this reading Indeed, they were both in mourning.

mouth

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

Mr

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

Mrs

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

nice-looking

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

norconjunctionUS /nɔːr/

and not; used after a negative to add a second negative

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

nose

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

often

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

primness

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

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

rather

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

ribbons

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

schoolmaster

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

small

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

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

sweet

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

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

talkative

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Christmas dinner.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Indeed, they were both in mourning.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

unworldly

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

From this reading Mr. Bloomfield bore himself with a kind of unworldly grace, and Mrs. Bloomfield with a kind of sweet primness.

wanted

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Indeed, they were both in mourning.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

wife

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

From this reading The schoolmaster was inclined to be talkative; nor was his wife behind him; and that was just what we wanted.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield arrived; the former a benevolent, grey-haired man, with a large nose and small mouth, yet with nothing of the foolish look which often accompanies such a malconformation; and the latter a nice-looking little body, middle-aged, rather more; with half-grey curls, and a cap with black ribbons.