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Franklin Kane
Franklin Kane

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for Franklin Kane
Context Illustration Reading 1/47 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.
Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.
There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.
She herself could stay only a few days.
She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.
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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.

Franklin Kane

Chapter IX

Reading 1/47 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.
Line 2
Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.
Line 3
There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.
Line 4
She herself could stay only a few days.
Line 5
She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

Learner Dictionary

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

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “She herself could stay only a few days.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

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

From this reading “She herself could stay only a few days.”

Meanwhile noun US /ˈmeanwhile/

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

From this reading “She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.”

Until preposition US /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading “She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.”

All words in this reading · 58

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 She herself could stay only a few days.

accompanied

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

all

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

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

Althea

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

assembled

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

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

August

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

back

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

ball

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

bound

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

Buckston

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

companionship

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

days

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

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

down

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

engagements

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

fall

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

few

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

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

forced

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

Helen

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

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

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

House

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

installed

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

July

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

many

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

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

meanwhilenounUS /ˈmeanwhile/

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

Merriston

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

middle

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

Miss

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

neighbours

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

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

only

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

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

rather

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

rolling

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

ruefully

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

rush

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

safely

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

see

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

set

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

social

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

stay

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

From this reading She herself could stay only a few days.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

There

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

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

torpid

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

very

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

From this reading Helen accompanied her to see her safely installed and to set the very torpid social ball rolling.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading She was bound, until the middle of August, in a rush of engagements, and meanwhile Althea, rather ruefully, was forced to fall back on Miss Buckston for companionship.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Althea went down to Merriston House in the middle of July.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading There were not many neighbours, but Helen assembled them all.