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That Affair Next Door
That Affair Next Door

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for That Affair Next Door
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Not killed by the falling shelves!
Why not?
Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"
"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.
As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."
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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.

That Affair Next Door

Chapter IV

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"Not killed by the falling shelves!
Line 2
Why not?
Line 3
Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"
Line 4
"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.
Line 5
As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

Learner Dictionary

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

Already noun US /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.”

Body noun US /body/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."”

Dead noun US /dead/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."”

Shelves noun US /ʃelvz/

Plural of shelf; the vast wooden or stone structures holding archives.

From this reading “"Not killed by the falling shelves!”

Struck noun US /struck/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “"They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.”

All words in this reading · 44

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 Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

alreadynounUS /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

bodynounUS /body/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

bruised

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

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading "Not killed by the falling shelves!

deadnounUS /dead/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

departed

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

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

enough

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

falling

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

From this reading "Not killed by the falling shelves!

fell

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

heavy

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

kill

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

killed

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

From this reading "Not killed by the falling shelves!

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

NotadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading "Not killed by the falling shelves!

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

place

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

shelvesnounUS /ʃelvz/

Plural of shelf; the vast wooden or stone structures holding archives.

From this reading "Not killed by the falling shelves!

simply

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

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

strike

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

strucknounUS /struck/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

sufficiently

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "Not killed by the falling shelves!

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

vital

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

way

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

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

Wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Were they not sufficiently heavy, or did they not strike her in a vital place?"

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading "They were heavy enough, and they struck her in a way to kill her if she had not been already dead when they fell upon her.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading As it was, they simply bruised a body from which life had already departed."

Why

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

From this reading Why not?