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The Killer
The Killer

Chapter XX

Cover illustration for The Killer
Context Illustration Reading 1/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was indeed a good place for children.
Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.
They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.
At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.
At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.
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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 Killer

Chapter XX

Reading 1/38 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was indeed a good place for children.
Line 2
Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.
Line 3
They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.
Line 4
At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.
Line 5
At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.

Learner Dictionary

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

Began noun US /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was indeed a good place for children.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.”

All words in this reading · 52

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 indeed a good place for children.

accompany

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

age

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

Alice

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

begannounUS /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

big

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

boned

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

bunch

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

From this reading At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.

California

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

cattle

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

Charley

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

children

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

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

district

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

entrusted

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

From this reading At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.

feed

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

Gates

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

grew

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

handle

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.

helped

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

High

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

incursions

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

indeed

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

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

magnificent

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

mountains

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

place

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

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

products

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

rode

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

school

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

search

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

Sierras

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

sixteen

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

From this reading At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.

strong

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

summer

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

tall

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

twelve

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

From this reading At the age of twelve Charley began to accompany the summer incursions into the High Sierras in search of feed.

typical

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

From this reading Charley and Alice Gates grew tall and strong, big boned, magnificent, typical California products.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was indeed a good place for children.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

wild

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

From this reading They went to the district school, rode in the mountains, helped handle the wild cattle.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading At the age of sixteen he was entrusted with a bunch of cattle.