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Madelon: A Novel
Madelon: A Novel

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for Madelon: A Novel
Context Illustration Reading 1/58 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
It was little used, and there was ice against it.
Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
"Anybody here?" he said.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Madelon: A Novel

Chapter XI

Reading 1/58 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.
Line 2
It was little used, and there was ice against it.
Line 3
Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.
Line 4
A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.
Line 5
"Anybody here?" he said.

Learner Dictionary

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

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “It was little used, and there was ice against it.”

Anybody pronoun US /ˈenibədi/

any person at all

From this reading “"Anybody here?" he said.”

Here noun US /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Anybody here?" he said.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was little used, and there was ice against it.”

Open verb US /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading “Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.”

All words in this reading · 46

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 Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

AnybodypronounUS /ˈenibədi/

any person at all

From this reading "Anybody here?" he said.

bolt

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

door

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

doubted

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

dusk

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

effort

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

face

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

front

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

heard

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

herenounUS /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Anybody here?" he said.

ice

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

From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

irresolutely

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.

knock

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

like

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.

man's

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

night

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

out

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

peered

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

Presently

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

pushed

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

rightly

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

said

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

From this reading "Anybody here?" he said.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

shot

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

Then

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

From this reading Then a man's face peered out irresolutely into the dusk.

there

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

From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

unlikely

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

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading A knock upon the front door, upon a night like this, seemed so unlikely that he doubted if he had heard rightly.

used

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

From this reading It was little used, and there was ice against it.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Presently a bolt was shot and the door pushed open with an effort.