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The Boy Tar
The Boy Tar

Chapter X

Cover illustration for The Boy Tar
Context Illustration Reading 1/79 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.
I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.
There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.
It was painful in the extreme.
The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.
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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.

The Boy Tar

Chapter X

Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.
Line 2
I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.
Line 3
There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.
Line 4
It was painful in the extreme.
Line 5
The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

Learner Dictionary

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

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.”

Myself pronoun US /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Once noun US /once/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Resign noun US /resign/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Something pronoun US /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading “There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.”

Unarmed noun US /ˈunarmed/

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

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.”

All words in this reading · 68

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

abandon

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

acute

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

From this reading The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

awful

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

From this reading There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

built

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

change

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

From this reading The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

conceived

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

design

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

enterprise

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

extreme

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

From this reading It was painful in the extreme.

face

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

farther

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

fate

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

further

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

helpless

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

hopes

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

lately

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

miserable

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

more

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

now

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

once

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

other

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

painful

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

From this reading It was painful in the extreme.

proceeding

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

progress

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

reaction

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

From this reading There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.

rendered

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

From this reading The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

renounce

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

resignnounUS /resign/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

said

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

shock

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

From this reading The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.

spirits

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

From this reading There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.

stared

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

success

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

suddenness

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

From this reading The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

There

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

From this reading There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading There was something awful in this reaction of my spirits.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

tunnel

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

unarmednounUS /ˈunarmed/

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

very

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

From this reading The very suddenness of the change rendered the shock more acute.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.

WithoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading Without it I was, as might be said, _unarmed and helpless_.

words

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

From this reading I could make no further progress with my tunnel; I should have to abandon the enterprise so lately conceived, and upon which I had built such hopes of success; in other words, I might now renounce my design of proceeding farther, and resign myself to the miserable fate that once more stared me in the face.