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Arthur's inheritance
Arthur's inheritance

Chapter XII

Cover illustration for Arthur's inheritance
Context Illustration Reading 1/31 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.
"Oh yes, of course!
Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.
"I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.
And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.
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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.

Arthur's inheritance

Chapter XII

Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.
Line 2
"Oh yes, of course!
Line 3
Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.
Line 4
"I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.
Line 5
And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

Learner Dictionary

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

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.”

Anything pronoun US /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading “Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.”

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.”

Course noun US /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Oh yes, of course!”

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.”

Gentleman noun US /ˈgentleman/

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

From this reading “Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.”

Hear noun US /hear/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.”

Myself pronoun US /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading “"I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.”

Replied noun US /replied/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.”

Returned noun US /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading “And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.”

Speak noun US /speak/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.”

All words in this reading · 60

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 A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.

ARTHUR

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

Bristow

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

came

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

CANmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

counting-house

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

coursenounUS /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Oh yes, of course!

delivered

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

distributed

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

few

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

FORprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

gentlemannounUS /ˈgentleman/

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

From this reading Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

hardly

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

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

hearnounUS /hear/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

important

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

From this reading Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

Isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

letter-bags

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

letters

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

minutes

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

Molly

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

Mr

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "Oh yes, of course!

Oh

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

From this reading "Oh yes, of course!

ready

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

repliednounUS /replied/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

returnednounUS /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

say

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

sir

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

speak

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

SURPRISE

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

talk

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

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

very

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

From this reading Is it anything very important?" asked the gentleman.

walk

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

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

want

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

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading And when the letter-bags were delivered, Arthur returned to the counting-house and found Mr. Bristow ready to hear what he had to say.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.

why

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

From this reading "I hardly know what to think of it myself, and that is why I want to talk to you," replied Arthur.

yes

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

From this reading "Oh yes, of course!

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading A SURPRISE FOR ARTHUR "CAN I speak to you for a few minutes, sir, when I have distributed the letters?" asked Arthur, when Mr. Bristow came in, the morning after he and Molly had been for their walk.