Read and study this complete chapter with synchronized narration, pronunciation, and vocabulary support.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Read the complete chapter in order, with its original wording preserved for focused English study.
You know her curiously shrill voice?” “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers. “I could not get rid of her. She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses. She spoke of me as her dearest friend.
Study this chapter through synchronized reading, listening, pronunciation, and contextual vocabulary.
Reading 37/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 181–185
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading ““Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.”
plural of “garter” — a band (usually elastic) worn around the leg to hold up a stocking (or around the arm to hold up a sleeve)
From this reading “She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.”
so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth
From this reading “She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.”
plural of “nose” — the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading “She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.”
usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
From this reading “She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.”
European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
From this reading ““Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.”
plural of “royalty” — payment to the holder of a patent or copyright or resource for the right to use their property
From this reading “She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.”
plural of “tiara” — a jeweled headdress worn by women on formal occasions
From this reading “She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She spoke of me as her dearest friend.
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
plural of “bit” — a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading “I could not get rid of her.
in a manner differing from the usual or expected
From this reading You know her curiously shrill voice?”
any of numerous composite plants having flower heads with well-developed ray flowers usually arranged in a single whorl
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading She spoke of me as her dearest friend.
advanced in years; (“aged” is pronounced as two syllables)
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
plural of “finger” — any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb)
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading She spoke of me as her dearest friend.
plural of “garter” — a band (usually elastic) worn around the leg to hold up a stocking (or around the arm to hold up a sleeve)
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “I could not get rid of her.
so exceedingly large or extensive as to suggest a giant or mammoth
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading You know her curiously shrill voice?”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I could not get rid of her.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading You know her curiously shrill voice?”
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
easily agitated
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
plural of “nose” — the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “I could not get rid of her.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I could not get rid of her.
usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
relieve from
From this reading “I could not get rid of her.
plural of “royalty” — payment to the holder of a patent or copyright or resource for the right to use their property
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading You know her curiously shrill voice?”
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading She spoke of me as her dearest friend.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
plural of “tiara” — a jeweled headdress worn by women on formal occasions
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading She brought me up to royalties, and people with stars and garters, and elderly ladies with gigantic tiaras and parrot noses.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading You know her curiously shrill voice?”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes; she is a peacock in everything but beauty,” said Lord Henry, pulling the daisy to bits with his long nervous fingers.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You know her curiously shrill voice?”
