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

Chapter I

Cover illustration for The Expendables
Context Illustration Reading 1/90 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.
Trouble was, it worked too well!
"You see my problem, Professor?"
Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.
I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.
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 Expendables

Chapter I

Reading 1/90 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.
Line 2
Trouble was, it worked too well!
Line 3
"You see my problem, Professor?"
Line 4
Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.
Line 5
I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.

Learner Dictionary

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

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Trouble was, it worked too well!”

All words in this reading · 37

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 was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.

black

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

box

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

Carmen

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

embarrassing

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

From this reading I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.

flashily

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

getting

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

held

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

just

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

manicured

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading "You see my problem, Professor?"

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

pinkly

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

problem

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

From this reading "You see my problem, Professor?"

Professor

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

From this reading "You see my problem, Professor?"

rid

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

ringed

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

saw

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

From this reading I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.

see

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

From this reading "You see my problem, Professor?"

things

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

Tony

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

too

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

From this reading Trouble was, it worked too well!

Trouble

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

From this reading Trouble was, it worked too well!

useful

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

warmly

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

From this reading I saw his problem and it was warmly embarrassing.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was just a little black box, useful for getting rid of things.

well

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

From this reading Trouble was, it worked too well!

wide

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

From this reading Tony Carmen held his pinkly manicured, flashily ringed hands wide.

worked

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

From this reading Trouble was, it worked too well!

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "You see my problem, Professor?"