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Chapter II
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As they entered they saw Dorian Gray. He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.” “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried. “I want to learn them. They are perfectly charming.”
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Reading 1/101 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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 several Old World tropical aromatic annual or perennial herbs of the genus Ocimum
From this reading ““You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.”
a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks
From this reading “As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.”
bestow a quality on
From this reading ““You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.”
plural of “page” — one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading “He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.””
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
From this reading “He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.””
plural of “scene” — the place where some action occurs
From this reading “He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.””
possessive form of “schumann” — German pianist and composer of piano music; renowned for her interpretation of music, especially the music of her husband Robert Schumann (1819-1896)
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.””
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 He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They are perfectly charming.”
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
any of several Old World tropical aromatic annual or perennial herbs of the genus Ocimum
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading They are perfectly charming.”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
a member of one of four linguistic divisions of the prehistoric Greeks
From this reading As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I want to learn them.
gain knowledge or skills
From this reading “I want to learn them.
bestow a quality on
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
above and across; more than
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
plural of “page” — one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading They are perfectly charming.”
a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
cut with a saw
From this reading As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.
plural of “scene” — the place where some action occurs
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
possessive form of “schumann” — German pianist and composer of piano music; renowned for her interpretation of music, especially the music of her husband Robert Schumann (1819-1896)
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
(of persons) having the torso erect and legs bent with the body supported on the buttocks
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As they entered they saw Dorian Gray.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “I want to learn them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was seated at the piano, with his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann’s “Forest Scenes.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You must lend me these, Basil,” he cried.
