Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Mark Tidd, Manufacturer
Mark Tidd, Manufacturer

Chapter XII

Cover illustration for Mark Tidd, Manufacturer
Context Illustration Reading 1/42 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.
The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.
The thing that had us guessing was where he vanished to.
He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.
He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.
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.

Mark Tidd, Manufacturer

Chapter XII

Reading 1/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.
Line 2
The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.
Line 3
The thing that had us guessing was where he vanished to.
Line 4
He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.
Line 5
He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

Learner Dictionary

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

Anybody pronoun US /ˈenibədi/

any person at all

From this reading “Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.”

Because conjunction US /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading “He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.”

Next noun US /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.”

Nobody pronoun US /ˈnoʊbɑːdiː/

no person; not anyone

From this reading “He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.”

Passed noun US /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.”

Somebody pronoun US /ˈsʌmbɑːdi/

a person, without saying who

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Something pronoun US /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Step noun US /step/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.”

All words in this reading · 63

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 Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

anybodypronounUS /ˈenibədi/

any person at all

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

away

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

Binney

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

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

careful

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

damaged

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

didn't

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

down

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

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

find

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

frightened

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

go

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

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

guessing

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

From this reading The thing that had us guessing was where he vanished to.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading The thing that had us guessing was where he vanished to.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

made

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

mill

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

NextnounUS /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

nobodypronounUS /ˈnoʊbɑːdiː/

no person; not anyone

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

only

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

passednounUS /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

place

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

From this reading He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.

pretty

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

search

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

sent

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

smash

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

somebodypronounUS /ˈsʌmbɑːdi/

a person, without saying who

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

stairs

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

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

stepnounUS /step/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

there

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

top

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

From this reading He didn’t go down the stairs, because Binney never left the top step and nobody passed him.

up

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

up-stairs

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

From this reading He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.

uspronounUS /ʌs/

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

vanished

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

From this reading The thing that had us guessing was where he vanished to.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading He had been in that place up-stairs when we went up, and he must have been there when we were.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading The thing that had us guessing was where he vanished to.

whole

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

From this reading Next morning we made a pretty careful search of the whole mill, but we didn’t find anybody, and nothing had been damaged.

Wiggamore

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

From this reading The only thing we could think of was that somebody must have been sent in there by Wiggamore to smash something up, but had been frightened away by us.