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Arsène Lupin
Arsène Lupin

Chapter XVIII · The Duke Stays

Cover illustration for Arsène Lupin
Context Illustration Reading 1/73 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.
There came the bang of the front door.
With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.
He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.
Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.
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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.

Arsène Lupin

Chapter XVIII · The Duke Stays

Reading 1/73 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.
Line 2
There came the bang of the front door.
Line 3
With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.
Line 4
He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.
Line 5
Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

Learner Dictionary

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

Across preposition US /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading “With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.”

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.”

Beyond preposition US /bɪˈɑːnd/

on the far side of; further than

From this reading “Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.”

Entirely noun US /ˈentirely/

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

From this reading “He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.”

Relief noun US /rɪˈliːf/

a feeling of comfort after worry or pain

From this reading “With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.”

Waiting noun US /ˈwaiting/

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

From this reading “He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.”

All words in this reading · 59

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 With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

air

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

anxiously

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

back

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

bang

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

From this reading There came the bang of the front door.

bare

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

beyondprepositionUS /bɪˈɑːnd/

on the far side of; further than

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

boards

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

breathing

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

briskly

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

came

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

From this reading There came the bang of the front door.

card-case

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

careless

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

chair

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

cigarette

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

cloak

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

deep

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

detective's

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

door

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

dropped

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

Duke

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

easy

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

empty

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

entirelynounUS /ˈentirely/

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

footsteps

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

front

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

From this reading There came the bang of the front door.

Guerchard's

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

heard

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

leant

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

lighted

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

listening

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There came the bang of the front door.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

opening

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

pocket

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

Presently

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

put

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

quick

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

From this reading Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening.

quickly

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

reliefnounUS /rɪˈliːf/

a feeling of comfort after worry or pain

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

return

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

room

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

sat

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

shut

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

sigh

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

smiling

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

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly.

There

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

From this reading There came the bang of the front door.

waiting

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

From this reading He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective’s return.

WithprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard’s cloak.