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Second String
Second String

Chapter XXI

Cover illustration for Second String
Context Illustration Reading 1/83 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE EMPTY PLACE.
Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.
"Yes, yes, he's a hard fellow.
He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.
Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.
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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.

Second String

Chapter XXI

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE EMPTY PLACE.
Line 2
Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.
Line 3
"Yes, yes, he's a hard fellow.
Line 4
He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.
Line 5
Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.”

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.”

Another noun US /ˈanother/

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

From this reading “Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.”

Course noun US /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.”

Rueful adjective US /ˈruːfəl/

showing regret or mild sorrow

From this reading “Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.”

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

anothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

Belfield

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

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

breast-high

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

coursenounUS /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

EMPTY

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

From this reading THE EMPTY PLACE.

expulsion

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

fellow

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

From this reading "Yes, yes, he's a hard fellow.

few

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

gossip

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

hard

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

From this reading "Yes, yes, he's a hard fellow.

he's

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

From this reading "Yes, yes, he's a hard fellow.

High

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

hours

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

inevitable

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

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

makes

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

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

Meriton

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

midnight

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

PLACE

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

From this reading THE EMPTY PLACE.

rubbed

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

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

ruefuladjectiveUS /ˈruːfəl/

showing regret or mild sorrow

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

scandal

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

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

smile

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

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

Street

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

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

taking

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

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE EMPTY PLACE.

uspronounUS /ʌs/

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

From this reading He's hard on us; hard in taking a course that makes scandal inevitable.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading Meriton High Street will be breast-high in gossip about the midnight expulsion in a few hours.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Belfield rubbed his hands against one another with a rueful smile.

Yes

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

From this reading "Yes, yes, he's a hard fellow.