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Aliens
Aliens

Chapter VII

Cover illustration for Aliens
Context Illustration Reading 1/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.
We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.
To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.
I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.
To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.
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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.

Aliens

Chapter VII

Reading 1/38 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.
Line 2
We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.
Line 3
To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.
Line 4
I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.
Line 5
To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.”

Exposed adjective US /ɪkˈspəʊzd/

left open to danger or view left open to danger or public view

From this reading “I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.”

Insisted verb US /ɪnˈsɪstɪd/

demanded something firmly

From this reading “To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.”

Submit verb US /səbˈmɪt/

to accept another person's control or a difficult situation

From this reading “I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading “To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.”

All words in this reading · 61

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 To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

all

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

animated

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

approaching

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

become

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

Bill's

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

coffee

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

compare

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

conclusion

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

contributed

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

criticisms

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

DIAPORESIS

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

dinner

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

discussion

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

evening

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

exposedadjectiveUS /ɪkˈspəʊzd/

left open to danger or view left open to danger or public view

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

familiar

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

insistedverbUS /ɪnˈsɪstɪd/

demanded something firmly

From this reading To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

judgment

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

Mac's

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

more

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

music

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

notes

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

offer

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

propound

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

reserved

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

sardonic

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

scrutiny

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

share

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

shrewd

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

story

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

From this reading To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

strangeness

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

From this reading To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

submitverbUS /səbˈmɪt/

to accept another person's control or a difficult situation

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

surprise

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

From this reading To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

tale

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

tests

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

theories

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

unexpectedly

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading To my surprise they insisted upon the strangeness of the story.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading DIAPORESIS The discussion at dinner that evening was unexpectedly animated.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading We all had our theories to propound, our notes to compare and our criticisms to offer.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading To this I contributed my share, but reserved a conclusion to which I had been approaching all through the tale.

wished

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

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading I wished to submit it to the tests of coffee and music, to become more familiar with it before I exposed it to Bill's shrewd scrutiny and Mac's sardonic judgment.