Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
John Barleycorn
John Barleycorn

Chapter II

Cover illustration for John Barleycorn
Context Illustration Reading 1/12 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.
In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.
I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.
I am not stupid.
I am not a swine.
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.

John Barleycorn

Chapter II

Reading 1/12 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.
Line 2
In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.
Line 3
I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.
Line 4
I am not stupid.
Line 5
I am not a swine.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.”

Ere conjunction US /er/

an old word for “before”

From this reading “And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.”

All words in this reading · 39

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 In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

alcohol

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

From this reading I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.

all

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

ask

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

begin

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

constitutional

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

From this reading I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.

drinker

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

From this reading In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.

ereconjunctionUS /er/

an old word for “before”

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

merely

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading I am not stupid.

place

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

From this reading In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.

predisposition

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

From this reading I have no constitutional predisposition for alcohol.

reader

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

seasoned

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

From this reading In the first place, I am a seasoned drinker.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

stupid

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

From this reading I am not stupid.

swine

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

From this reading I am not a swine.

sympathy

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

understanding

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

walk

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

whompronounUS /huːm/

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.

write

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

From this reading And, ere I begin, I must ask the reader to walk with me in all sympathy; and, since sympathy is merely understanding, begin by understanding me and whom and what I write about.