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Gobseck
Gobseck

Chapter VI

Cover illustration for Gobseck
Context Illustration Reading 1/34 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“‘Then is the Count actually dying?’
I asked.
“‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’
“I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:
“‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’
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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.

Gobseck

Chapter VI

Reading 1/34 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“‘Then is the Count actually dying?’
Line 2
I asked.
/aɪ asked/
Line 3
“‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’
Line 4
“I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:
Line 5
“‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

Learner Dictionary

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

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I asked.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:”

Take noun US /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’”

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 “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

actually

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

From this reading “‘Then is the Count actually dying?’

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I asked.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

bit

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

business

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

Count

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

From this reading “‘Then is the Count actually dying?’

dying

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

From this reading “‘Then is the Count actually dying?’

estate

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

explain

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

Gobseck

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

how

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I asked.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

interest

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading “‘Then is the Count actually dying?’

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

juicy

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

Just

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

man

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

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

men

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

only

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

possible

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

said

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

sounding

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

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

takenounUS /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading “‘Then is the Count actually dying?’

Then

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

From this reading “‘Then is the Count actually dying?’

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

up

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

way

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

From this reading “I looked at my man, and said, by way of sounding him:

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

whompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “‘Just explain to me how it is that we, the Count and I, are the only men in whom you take an interest?’

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

winding

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

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “‘That is possible,’ said Gobseck; ‘the winding up of his estate will be a juicy bit of business for you.’