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Black Jack
Black Jack

Chapter XIII

Cover illustration for Black Jack
Context Illustration Reading 1/22 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The talk was fitful in the living room.
Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.
A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.
Therefore it was possible to talk freely.
And people talked.
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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.

Black Jack

Chapter XIII

Reading 1/22 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The talk was fitful in the living room.
Line 2
Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.
Line 3
A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.
Line 4
Therefore it was possible to talk freely.
Line 5
And people talked.

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 “A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.”

Same noun US /same/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.”

Therefore adverb US /ˈðerfɔːr/

for that reason; as a result

From this reading “Therefore it was possible to talk freely.”

All words in this reading · 49

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 Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

away

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

best

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

centers

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

Cornish

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

dinner

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

disappearance

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

Elizabeth

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

excitement

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

faces

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

fitful

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

freely

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

From this reading Therefore it was possible to talk freely.

guests

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

happiness

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Therefore it was possible to talk freely.

living

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

others

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

people

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

From this reading And people talked.

possible

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

From this reading Therefore it was possible to talk freely.

prey

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

restraint

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

revive

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

room

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

samenounUS /same/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

sheriff

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

showed

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

storm

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

subdued

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

taken

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

talk

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

talked

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

From this reading And people talked.

Terry

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

From this reading A restraint had been taken away by the disappearance of both the storm centers of the dinner--the sheriff and Terry.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

ThereforeadverbUS /ˈðerfɔːr/

for that reason; as a result

From this reading Therefore it was possible to talk freely.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The talk was fitful in the living room.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading Elizabeth Cornish did her best to revive the happiness of her guests, but she herself was a prey to the same subdued excitement which showed in the faces of the others.