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The Frontier
The Frontier

Chapter III

Cover illustration for The Frontier
Context Illustration Reading 1/51 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.
Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.
One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.
His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.
The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.
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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 Frontier

Chapter III

Reading 1/51 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.
Line 2
Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.
Line 3
One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.
Line 4
His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.
Line 5
The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

Learner Dictionary

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

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.”

During preposition US /ˈdʊrɪŋ/

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading “One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.”

Every determiner US /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading “One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.”

All words in this reading · 83

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 THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

beauty

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

boarding-school

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

came

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

child

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

commissary

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

duringprepositionUS /ˈdʊrɪŋ/

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

empty

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

entrancing

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

evening

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

example

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

explanation

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

find

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

forced

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

four

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

future

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

girl

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

gone

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

heavy

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

home

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

hope

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

house

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

humiliation

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

Jorance

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

kept

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

man

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

marriage

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

married

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

mother's

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

Noirmont

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

only

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

PAMPHLET

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

piano

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

pleasant-faced

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

rather

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

recovering

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

saving

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

secretary

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

sort

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

suffered

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

suicide

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

Suzanne

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

taking

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

teach

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

torture

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

Twenty-five

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

unhappy

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

unwieldy

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

used

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

VIOLET

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading THE VIOLET PAMPHLET Jorance was a heavy and rather unwieldy, pleasant-faced man.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading One evening, after four years of marriage, four years of torture, during which the unhappy man suffered every sort of humiliation, Jorance came home to find the house empty.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.

wife

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

word

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

From this reading His wife had gone without a word of explanation, taking their little girl, Suzanne, with her.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading The only thing that kept him from suicide was the hope of recovering the child and saving her from the life which her mother's example would have forced upon her in the future.

years

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

From this reading Twenty-five years before, when secretary to the commissary at Noirmont, he had married a girl of entrancing beauty, who used to teach the piano in a boarding-school.