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Hilda Lessways
Hilda Lessways

Chapter III

Cover illustration for Hilda Lessways
Context Illustration Reading 1/39 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
MR.
CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.
Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.
Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:
"I'm going to get that thread you want.
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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.

Hilda Lessways

Chapter III

Reading 1/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
MR.
Line 2
CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.
Line 3
Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.
Line 4
Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:
Line 5
"I'm going to get that thread you want.

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 “Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:”

Ere conjunction US /er/

an old word for “before”

From this reading “Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.”

All words in this reading · 45

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 CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

came

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

CANNON

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

curiosity

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

descend

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

downstairs

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

dressed

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

EreconjunctionUS /er/

an old word for “before”

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

forestalling

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

gas

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

get

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

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.

glimmer

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

go

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

going

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

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.

heels

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

HerdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

Hilda

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

I'm

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

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

later

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

Lessways

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

lighting

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

lobby

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

mother

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

MR

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

From this reading MR.

Mrs

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

out

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

quickly

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

round

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

said

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

thread

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

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.

tiptoes

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading CANNON I A little later Hilda came downstairs dressed to go out.

turn

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

From this reading Ere Mrs. Lessways could descend from her tiptoes to her heels and turn round Hilda said quickly, forestalling curiosity:

want

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

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Her mother was lighting a glimmer of gas in the lobby.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "I'm going to get that thread you want.