Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Boys of The Fort
Boys of The Fort

Chapter XIV

Cover illustration for Boys of The Fort
Context Illustration Reading 1/29 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.
Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Boys of The Fort

Chapter XIV

Reading 1/29 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.
Line 2
Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.
Line 3
Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.
Line 4
What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.
Line 5
Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

Learner Dictionary

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

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”

OVER preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.”

All words in this reading · 52

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 Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

alarmed

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

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

almost

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

any

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

back

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

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

boy

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

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

Darry

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

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

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

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

faced

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

feet

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

fish

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

gave

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

instant

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

instinctively

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

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

jerk

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

leaped

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

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

MOUNTAIN

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

From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.

much

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

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

NevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

OVERprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.

ready

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

reason

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

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

reptile

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

rock

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

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

snake

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

spring

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.

Then

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

TOP

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

From this reading OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock.