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Derelicts
Derelicts

Chapter II · Yvonne

Cover illustration for Derelicts
Context Illustration Reading 1/29 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.
He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.
His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.
“Good-bye,” said Yvonne, “and thank you.”
She was feeling a little upset.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Derelicts

Chapter II · Yvonne

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

Line 1
That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.
Line 2
He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.
Line 3
His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.
Line 4
“Good-bye,” said Yvonne, “and thank you.”
Line 5
She was feeling a little upset.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.”

Feeling noun US /ˈfeeling/

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

From this reading “She was feeling a little upset.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She was feeling a little upset.”

Standing noun US /ˈstanding/

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

From this reading “That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.”

All words in this reading · 48

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 That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

adjusted

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

blue

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

burly

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

concert-hall

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

dark

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

door

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

evening

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

eyes

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

feelingnounUS /ˈfeeling/

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

From this reading She was feeling a little upset.

fellow-artist

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

fingers

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

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

friend

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

Good-bye

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

From this reading “Good-bye,” said Yvonne, “and thank you.”

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

Irishman

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

lingered

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

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She was feeling a little upset.

longer

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

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

manner

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

necessary

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

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

persuasive

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

pudding-faced

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

red

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

round

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

said

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

From this reading “Good-bye,” said Yvonne, “and thank you.”

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She was feeling a little upset.

shoulders

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

standingnounUS /ˈstanding/

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading His fingers lingered about the wrap longer than was necessary.

thank

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

From this reading “Good-bye,” said Yvonne, “and thank you.”

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

twinkling

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

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

upset

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

From this reading She was feeling a little upset.

Vandeleur

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading He was a burly, pudding-faced Irishman with twinkling dark blue eyes and a persuasive manner.

wrap

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Good-bye,” said Yvonne, “and thank you.”

Yvonne

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

From this reading That evening Yvonne was standing by the door of a concert-hall, as her friend and fellow-artist Vandeleur adjusted a red wrap round her shoulders.