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Ester Ried
Ester Ried

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for Ester Ried
Context Illustration Reading 1/20 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THREE PEOPLE.
As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.
Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.
She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.
How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?
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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.

Ester Ried

Chapter XI

Reading 1/20 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THREE PEOPLE.
Line 2
As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.
Line 3
Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.
Line 4
She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.
Line 5
How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

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 “As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.”

Disposition noun US /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃən/

the way something is arranged or positioned

From this reading “How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?”

Ever noun US /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.”

Feeling noun US /ˈfeeling/

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

From this reading “How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.”

Least noun US /least/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.”

Whether conjunction US /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading “She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.”

All words in this reading · 62

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 As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

counted

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

decide

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

dispositionnounUS /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃən/

the way something is arranged or positioned

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

Ester

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

evernounUS /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

feelingnounUS /ˈfeeling/

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

gentle

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

heart

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

hesitated

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

How

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

leastnounUS /least/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

matters

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

moment

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

mother

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

Mrs

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

much

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

natural

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

negative

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

outgrowth

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

outwardly

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

patient

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

PEOPLE

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

From this reading THREE PEOPLE.

positive

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

positively

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

prayed

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

rather

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

religion

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

Ried's

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

Sadie

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

sort

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

spoke

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

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

sweetness

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

tenderness

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading How was she to decide whether the gentle, patient life was the outgrowth of religion in her heart, or whether it was a natural sweetness of disposition and tenderness of feeling?

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

THREE

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

From this reading THREE PEOPLE.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading As it was she hesitated, and thought--not of Ester, _her_ life had not been such as to be counted for a moment--of her mother.

Well

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

From this reading Well, Mrs. Ried's religion had been of a negative rather than of a positive sort, at least outwardly.

whetherconjunctionUS /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading She never spoke much of these matters, and Sadie positively did not know whether she ever prayed or not.