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Opening the iron trail
Opening the iron trail

Chapter XVIII

Cover illustration for Opening the iron trail
Context Illustration Reading 1/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”
Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.
Pat straightened and gaped.
“What?
Say that ag’in.
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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.

Opening the iron trail

Chapter XVIII

Reading 1/38 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”
Line 2
Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.
Line 3
Pat straightened and gaped.
Line 4
“What?
/wʌt/
Line 5
Say that ag’in.

Learner Dictionary

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

LAST noun US /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!””

Plainly noun US /ˈplainly/

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

From this reading “Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.”

Those determiner US /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading “Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.”

All words in this reading · 39

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

a-comin

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

ag'in

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

From this reading Say that ag’in.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

C

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

gaped

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

From this reading Pat straightened and gaped.

George

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

grade

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

heard

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

LASTnounUS /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

news

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

o

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

Ogden

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

Pat

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

From this reading Pat straightened and gaped.

Pay

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

plainlynounUS /ˈplainly/

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

Say

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

From this reading Say that ag’in.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

side

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

startling

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

straightened

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

From this reading Pat straightened and gaped.

STRETCH

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

Terry

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

TH

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Say that ag’in.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

ThosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

U

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

unbelievable

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

up

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

From this reading THE LAST STRETCH “TH’ C. Pay. are this side o’ Ogden an’ a-comin’ up th’ U. Pay. grade!”

very

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading “What?

words

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

From this reading Those were the very words, plainly heard by Terry and George both; but the startling news seemed unbelievable.