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Septimus
Septimus

Chapter I

Cover illustration for Septimus
Context Illustration Reading 1/47 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.
"It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."
"I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.
She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.
She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.
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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.

Septimus

Chapter I

Reading 1/47 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.
Line 2
"It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."
Line 3
"I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.
Line 4
She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.
Line 5
She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

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 “She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.”

All words in this reading · 53

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 "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

away

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

broughtnounUS /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

cakes

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

From this reading She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.

call

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

desire

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

faded

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

going

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

handed

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

From this reading She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

I'm

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

laid

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

lavender

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

less

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

Literary

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

lives

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

London

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

love

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

Man

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

Middlemist

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

Nunsmere

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

parishioners

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

pet

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

retorted

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

said

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.

spot

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

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "I love Nunsmere," said the Literary Man from London.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.

turned

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

From this reading She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.

unbearable

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

Vicar

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

From this reading She turned from him and handed cakes to the Vicar.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading "It is a spot where faded lives are laid away in lavender."

whompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading She had no desire to pet the Vicar, but he was less unbearable than the Literary Man from London whom he had brought to call on his parishioners.

Zora

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

From this reading "I'm not a faded life, and I'm not going to be laid away in lavender," retorted Zora Middlemist.