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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
abandon
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
Alban
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
alternatives
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
any
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From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
attempt
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
back
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From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
begannounUS /began/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
City
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From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
Conscious
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From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
dark
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
day
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From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
definite
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From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
discovery
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
eitherdeterminerUS /ˈiːðər/
one or the other of two
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
Emily's
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From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
error
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From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
false
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From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
firstnounUS /first/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
guesswork
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
haphazard
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From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
hope
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
how
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From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
idea
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From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
impatience
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From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
led
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
library
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
looking
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
loss
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From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
making
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
means
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
motives
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
newspaper
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
numbers
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From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
own
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
penetrate
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
presented
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
problem
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From this reading How was the problem to be solved?
proved
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From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
pure
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From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
pursued
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
reading
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
retrace
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
s
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
ShepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
solved
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How was the problem to be solved?
stepnounUS /step/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
taken
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
two
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But two alternatives presented themselves: either to abandon the hope of making any discovery--or to attempt to penetrate Alban ‘s motives by means of pure guesswork, pursued in the dark.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
wasted
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Emily’s first day in the City library proved to be a day wasted.
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Conscious of the error into which her own impatience had led her, she was at a loss how to retrace the false step that she had taken.
withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading She began reading the back numbers of the newspaper at haphazard, without any definite idea of what she was looking for.
