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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
begin
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From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
blind
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
bottom
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
byprepositionUS /baɪ/
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
coursenounUS /course/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
cut
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
dark
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From this reading In the dark the flour poured to the deck unobserved.
deck
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From this reading In the dark the flour poured to the deck unobserved.
dog-watch
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From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
dragging
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
empty
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
evening
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From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
flour
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
happened
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From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
hepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
heels
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
hours
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From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
InprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
knife
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
lastnounUS /last/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
lost
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From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
man
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
many
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
nearly
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From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
notadverbUS /nɑːt/
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
past
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From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
point-blank
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
pot-shot
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
poured
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the dark the flour poured to the deck unobserved.
range
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
sacks
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
screen
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
second
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From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
see
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
slip-sloppily
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
slippers
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From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
slits
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
some
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
steward
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
things
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
ThroughnounUS /ˈthrough/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
thrust
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From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
ToparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
tooknounUS /took/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
top
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
twenty-four
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the past twenty-four hours many things have happened.
unobserved
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the dark the flour poured to the deck unobserved.
ventilator
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
wepronounUS /wiː/
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.
wentnounUS /went/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading Of course, the man behind could not see through the screen of empty sacks, but he took a blind pot-shot at point-blank range when the steward went by, slip-sloppily dragging the heels of his slippers.
wide
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Through the slits in the ventilator some man thrust a knife into the sacks of flour and cut them wide open from top to bottom.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading To begin with, we nearly lost the steward in the second dog-watch last evening.