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Half A Chance
Half A Chance

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for Half A Chance
Context Illustration Reading 1/33 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!
Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!
Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!
Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.
On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!
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.

Half A Chance

Chapter IV

Reading 1/33 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!
Line 2
Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!
Line 3
Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!
Line 4
Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.
Line 5
On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

Learner Dictionary

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

Beneath preposition US /bɪˈniːθ/

Directly under; in or to a lower position than.

From this reading “Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!”

Breathe verb US /briːð/

to speak or reveal information, especially secretly

From this reading “On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!”

Has auxiliary verb US /hæz/

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

From this reading “Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!”

Silver noun US /silver/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!”

All words in this reading · 56

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 Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

agleam

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

arpeggios

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

basks

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

beneathprepositionUS /bɪˈniːθ/

Directly under; in or to a lower position than.

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

blue

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

breatheverbUS /briːð/

to speak or reveal information, especially secretly

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

crack

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

emerged

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

flows

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

fogs

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

forth

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

give

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

glad

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

hum

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

Joyous

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

JUSTICE

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

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

London

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

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

OnprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

people

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

really

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

red

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

ripples

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

sails

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

seem

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

shadows

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

silver

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

singing

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

skies

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

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

slink

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

sprightly

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

spring

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

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

streets

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

Sunshine

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

swing

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

Thames

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

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Joyous London that has emerged from fogs and basks beneath blue skies!

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

Thoroughfares

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

too

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

uncannily

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

walk

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

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

WHEELS

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

From this reading THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE London, in the spring!

whips

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

From this reading Thoroughfares that give forth a glad hum; wheels singing, too; whips that crack in sprightly arpeggios.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading On the streets, people, not shadows, who walk with a swing; who really seem to breathe and not slink uncannily by!

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Sunshine; the Thames agleam with silver ripples, singing as it flows; red sails!