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Better Dead
Better Dead

Chapter II

Cover illustration for Better Dead
Context Illustration Reading 1/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.
It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.
He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.
Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.
It had not struck him to be lonely.
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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.

Better Dead

Chapter II

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

Line 1
Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.
Line 2
It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.
Line 3
He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.
Line 4
Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.
Line 5
It had not struck him to be lonely.

Learner Dictionary

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

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.”

Foot noun US /foot/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.”

Returned noun US /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading “Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.”

Struck noun US /struck/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It had not struck him to be lonely.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.”

All words in this reading · 57

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 left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

Andrew

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

back

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

Bannockburn

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading It had not struck him to be lonely.

bed-room

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

Bernard

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

Bloomsbury

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

box

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

buy

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

carried

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

cloak-room

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

Cross

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

England

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

finding

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

following

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

footnounUS /foot/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

hat

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading It had not struck him to be lonely.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

house

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

King's

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

lodgings

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

lonely

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

From this reading It had not struck him to be lonely.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

naturally

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading It had not struck him to be lonely.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

out

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

reached

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

returnednounUS /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

set

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

straw

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

Street

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

strucknounUS /struck/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It had not struck him to be lonely.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

Then

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

top

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was the first time he had set foot in England, and he naturally thought of Bannockburn.

way

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

From this reading He left his box in the cloak-room, and, finding his way into Bloomsbury, took a bed-room at the top of a house in Bernard Street.

Wednesday

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

From this reading Andrew reached King's Cross on the following Wednesday morning.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Then he returned for his box, carried it on his back to his lodgings, and went out to buy a straw hat.