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The old Stanfield house
The old Stanfield house

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for The old Stanfield house
Context Illustration Reading 1/82 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.
"I have been reading the Bible."
"What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.
"Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.
There must be something in the air.
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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 old Stanfield house

Chapter IX

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.
Line 2
"I have been reading the Bible."
Line 3
"What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.
Line 4
"Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.
Line 5
There must be something in the air.

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “"I have been reading the Bible."”

Believe noun US /ˈbelieve/

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

From this reading “"You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.”

Bible noun US /bible/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"I have been reading the Bible."”

Every determiner US /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading “"Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.”

Everybody pronoun US /ˈevribɑːdi/

every person

From this reading “"What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “"I have been reading the Bible."”

Here noun US /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “There must be something in the air.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.”

Something pronoun US /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading “There must be something in the air.”

Tell noun US /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “"You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.”

All words in this reading · 45

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

ails

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

From this reading "What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.

air

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

From this reading There must be something in the air.

Alger

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

answer

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading There must be something in the air.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading "I have been reading the Bible."

believenounUS /ˈbelieve/

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

Bible

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

From this reading "I have been reading the Bible."

Chloe

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

comment

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

From this reading "What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.

evening

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

everybodypronounUS /ˈevribɑːdi/

every person

From this reading "What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.

going

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "I have been reading the Bible."

HerenounUS /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

meeting-house

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

Miss

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

From this reading "What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.

Mr

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading There must be something in the air.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

old

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

preach

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

Priscilla

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

Priscilla's

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

From this reading "What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.

reading

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

From this reading "I have been reading the Bible."

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading There must be something in the air.

Sunday

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

tellnounUS /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

tells

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

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Here Chloe tells me that old Mr. Alger is going to preach in the old meeting-house every Sunday evening.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

There

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

From this reading There must be something in the air.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "What ails everybody?" was Miss Priscilla's comment.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "You would never believe it if I were to tell you, Priscilla," was the answer.