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approximately
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From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
asconjunctionUS /æz/
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
beauxiliary verbUS /biː/
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
birds
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
Calhoun
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From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
came
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From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
chirpings
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From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
crawling
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
creatures
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
cries
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From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
deep-bass
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From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
described
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From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
Earth
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
exceptprepositionUS /ɪkˈsept/
apart from; not including
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
fluting
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
hummings
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From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
land-turtles
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
later
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
living
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From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
miniature
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From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
much
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From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
noises
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
normal
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From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
pigs
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
pleasednounUS /ˈpleased/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
roughly
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From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
silencenounUS /ˈsaɪ.ləns/
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
sounds
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
There
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
theypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
things
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
throats
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were deep-bass hummings, which came from the throats of miniature creatures which might roughly be described as birds.
toldnounUS /told/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
too
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
unlike
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
weren't
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading There were chirpings which were the cries of what might be approximately described as wild pigs--except that they weren't.
whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
wild
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading * * * * * There was silence except for the normal noises of living wild things.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading But Calhoun was not pleased with himself.
wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading There were fluting sounds, which later Calhoun would be told, from crawling creatures not too much unlike the land-turtles of Earth.
