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Angling Sketches
Angling Sketches

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for Angling Sketches
Context Illustration Reading 1/32 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.
"Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.
He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.
Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.
"And do the people actually believe all that?"
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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.

Angling Sketches

Chapter IV

Reading 1/32 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.
Line 2
"Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.
Line 3
He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.
Line 4
Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.
Line 5
"And do the people actually believe all that?"

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 “He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.”

Answered noun US /ˈanswered/

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

From this reading “"Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.”

Believe noun US /ˈbelieve/

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

From this reading “"And do the people actually believe all that?"”

Blood noun US /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.”

Cruel adjective US /ˈkruːəl/

causing pain or showing no kindness

From this reading “Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.”

Current noun US /ˈcurrent/

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

From this reading “He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.”

All words in this reading · 74

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 He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

actually

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

From this reading "And do the people actually believe all that?"

airy

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

all

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

From this reading "And do the people actually believe all that?"

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

anothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

answerednounUS /ˈanswered/

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

backed

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

believenounUS /ˈbelieve/

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

From this reading "And do the people actually believe all that?"

bloodnounUS /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

came

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

corner

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

corners

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

crueladjectiveUS /ˈkruːəl/

causing pain or showing no kindness

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

currentnounUS /ˈcurrent/

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

dark

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

darkling

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

desire

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "And do the people actually believe all that?"

door

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

false

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

fire-light

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

fled

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

follows

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

Harping

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

hills

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

hut

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

ill

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

Jew's-harp

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

lad

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

lips

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

lovers

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

meet

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

off

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

others

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

out

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

people

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

From this reading "And do the people actually believe all that?"

played

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

prudent

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

red

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

rose

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

said

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

semblance

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

shapes

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

slowly

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

stole

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

sweetheart

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

From this reading "Harping is good if no ill follows it," said the semblance of his sweetheart; but he never answered.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "And do the people actually believe all that?"

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

Then

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

thrummed

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

trickled

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

From this reading He played and thrummed, and out of one dark corner trickled red blood into the fire-light, and out of another corner came a current of blood to meet it.

two

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

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.

way

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

From this reading Then he slowly rose, still harping, and backed his way to the door, and fled into the hills from these cruel airy shapes of false desire.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The two others stole off into corners of the darkling hut with their lovers, but this prudent lad never took his lips off the Jew's-harp.