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Norston's Rest
Norston's Rest

Chapter XIV

Cover illustration for Norston's Rest
Context Illustration Reading 1/42 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE BIRD AND THE SERPENT.
"Go.
It may be news," said the sick man.
Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.
His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Norston's Rest

Chapter XIV

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

Line 1
THE BIRD AND THE SERPENT.
Line 2
"Go.
Line 3
It may be news," said the sick man.
Line 4
Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.
Line 5
His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

Learner Dictionary

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

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “It may be news," said the sick man.”

Toward preposition US /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading “Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.”

All words in this reading · 35

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading THE BIRD AND THE SERPENT.

audacious

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

BeforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

BIRD

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

From this reading THE BIRD AND THE SERPENT.

clouded

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

coming

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

door

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

face

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

father's

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

Go

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

From this reading "Go.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

less

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

man

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

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

manner

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

met

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

news

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

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

reach

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

Richard

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

room

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

Ruth

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

said

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

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

SERPENT

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

From this reading THE BIRD AND THE SERPENT.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

sick

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

From this reading It may be news," said the sick man.

Storms

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

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE BIRD AND THE SERPENT.

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading Before Ruth could reach the door she met Richard Storms coming toward her father's room.

usual

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading His manner was less audacious than usual, and his face clouded.