Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Blazed Trail
The Blazed Trail

Chapter III

Cover illustration for The Blazed Trail
Context Illustration Reading 1/27 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.
Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.
He had imagination.
No business man succeeds without it.
With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Blazed Trail

Chapter III

Reading 1/27 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.
Line 2
Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.
Line 3
He had imagination.
Line 4
No business man succeeds without it.
Line 5
With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

Learner Dictionary

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

Across preposition US /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading “Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.”

Distant adjective US /ˈdɪstənt/

not friendly or close

From this reading “Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.”

Drew noun US /drew/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.”

Has auxiliary verb US /hæz/

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

From this reading “With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.”

Sometimes noun US /sometimes/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “No business man succeeds without it.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.”

All words in this reading · 61

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 With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

aloof

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

battle

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

broad

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

business

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

From this reading No business man succeeds without it.

cut

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

days

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

distantadjectiveUS /ˈdɪstənt/

not friendly or close

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

drewnounUS /drew/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

errands

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

fires

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

five

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

floors

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

ForprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

forest

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

greatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading He had imagination.

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

held

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

imagination

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

From this reading He had imagination.

impassive

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading No business man succeeds without it.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

made

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

man

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

From this reading No business man succeeds without it.

nature

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading No business man succeeds without it.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

own

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

plain

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

proportions

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

ran

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

securely

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

Sometimes

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

struggle

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

stump-dotted

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

succeeds

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

From this reading No business man succeeds without it.

swept

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

Thorpe

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

water

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

WithprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading No business man succeeds without it.

wood

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

From this reading For five days Thorpe cut wood, made fires, drew water, swept floors, and ran errands.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading Sometimes he would look across the broad stump-dotted plain to the distant forest.

wrest

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

From this reading With him the great struggle to wrest from an impassive and aloof nature what she has so long held securely as her own, took on the proportions of a battle.