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

Chapter II

Cover illustration for Little Bobtail
Context Illustration Reading 1/39 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE END OF A SAD STORY.
In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
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.

Little Bobtail

Chapter II

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

Line 1
THE END OF A SAD STORY.
Line 2
In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
Line 3
Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
Line 4
She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
Line 5
Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.”

Entirely noun US /ˈentirely/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.”

All words in this reading · 42

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 THE END OF A SAD STORY.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

answer

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

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

BeforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

better

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

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

came

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

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

cough

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

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

Edward

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

END

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

From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.

entirelynounUS /ˈentirely/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

happy

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

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

letter

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

mailed

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

Medway

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

Montague

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

needed

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

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

New

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

NothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.

Orleans

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

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

presence

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

From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.

SAD

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

From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.

Sara

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

slept

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

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

STORY

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

From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

week

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

From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.

well

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

From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.

York

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

From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.