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In Direst Peril
In Direst Peril

Chapter VI

Cover illustration for In Direst Peril
Context Illustration Reading 1/46 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.
The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.
Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.
The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.
To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.
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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.

In Direst Peril

Chapter VI

Reading 1/46 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.
Line 2
The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.
Line 3
Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.
Line 4
The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.
Line 5
To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

Learner Dictionary

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

Among preposition US /əˈmʌŋ/

surrounded by; in the middle of a group

From this reading “Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.”

Course noun US /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.”

Done noun US /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.”

Folly noun US /ˈfɑːli/

an action or decision that shows a lack of good judgment

From this reading “To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.”

Take noun US /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.”

All words in this reading · 61

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 To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

afoot

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/

surrounded by; in the middle of a group

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

attempted

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

avoid

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

bridge

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

coursenounUS /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

cut

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

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

donenounUS /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

Flight

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

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

foaming

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

follynounUS /ˈfɑːli/

an action or decision that shows a lack of good judgment

From this reading To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

ford

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

frontier

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

guess

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

hope

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

hopeless

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

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

madness

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

man

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

mountains

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

From this reading To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

off

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

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

only

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

place

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

purposeless

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

From this reading To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

pursuers

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

Pursuit

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

ran

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

reach

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

resistance

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

From this reading Flight was cut off, and of course resistance was hopeless.

river

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

roads

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

takenounUS /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading To take to the mountains would have been a purposeless folly.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

uspronounUS /ʌs/

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

volume

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

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Pursuit was afoot, and what should be done to avoid it no man among us could guess.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading The first place our pursuers would make for would be the bridge and the ford, since they were the only roads by which we could hope to reach the frontier.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading The foaming river ran in such volume that only madness would have attempted to ford it.