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Polly Oliver's Problem
Polly Oliver's Problem

Chapter XV

Cover illustration for Polly Oliver's Problem
Context Illustration Reading 1/18 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.
One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.
Edgar wrote:-- .
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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.

Polly Oliver's Problem

Chapter XV

Reading 1/18 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.
Line 2
One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.
Line 3
Edgar wrote:-- .
Line 4
Line 5

Learner Dictionary

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

Brought noun US /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading “One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.”

Second noun US /second/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.”

All words in this reading · 40

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 One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

Bird

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

broughtnounUS /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

came

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

cheery

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

dashed

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

day

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

DISCOURSES

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

From this reading EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.

EDGAR

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

From this reading EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

getting

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

hope

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

letters

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

mail

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

middle

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

Mrs

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

October

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.

off

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

often

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

plan

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

Polly

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

propose

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

replies

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

RUNNERS

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

From this reading EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.

SCARLET

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

From this reading EDGAR DISCOURSES OF SCARLET RUNNERS.

scrawls

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

second

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

two

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

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading One day, in the middle of October, the mail brought Polly two letters: the first from Edgar, who often dashed off cheery scrawls in the hope of getting cheery replies, which never came; and the second from Mrs. Bird, who had a plan to propose.

wrote

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

From this reading Edgar wrote:-- .