Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The skeleton key
The skeleton key

Chapter VI · “That Thunders in the Index”

Cover illustration for The skeleton key
Context Illustration Reading 1/62 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.
This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.
Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.
A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.
“This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
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 skeleton key

Chapter VI · “That Thunders in the Index”

Reading 1/62 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.
Line 2
This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.
Line 3
Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.
Line 4
A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.
Line 5
“This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

Learner Dictionary

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

Answered noun US /ˈanswered/

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

From this reading “Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.”

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.”

Course noun US /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.”

Disposition noun US /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃən/

the way something is arranged or positioned

From this reading “This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading “This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.”

Itself pronoun US /ˌɪtˈself/

used when the thing doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Least noun US /least/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.”

None pronoun US /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading “Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.”

Pleasant noun US /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.”

Sometimes noun US /sometimes/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Whether conjunction US /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading “This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.”

Whose determiner US /huːz/

belonging to which person

From this reading “This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.”

Worn verb US /wɔːrn/

Damaged or thinned by continuous use.

From this reading “Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.”

Yours pronoun US /jʊrz/

the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to

From this reading ““This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?””

All words in this reading · 85

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 Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

amused

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

answerednounUS /ˈanswered/

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

any

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

Audrey

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

Baron

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

child

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

clothe

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

committed

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

consider

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

conversation

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

coursenounUS /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

credit

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

dispositionnounUS /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃən/

the way something is arranged or positioned

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

drive

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

else

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

expected

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

Francis

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

frankly

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

friend

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

greater

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

greatly

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

habit

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

hardly

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

idiosyncrasy

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

indecorum

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

innumerable

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

itselfpronounUS /ˌɪtˈself/

used when the thing doing the action is also its object

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

lady

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

Le

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

leastnounUS /least/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

more

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

nakedness

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

nature

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

nonepronounUS /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

old

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

outspoken

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

pardonable

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

pleasantnounUS /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

questions

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

relatively

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

Sage

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

sees

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

From this reading A child who sees no indecorum in nakedness can hardly be expected to clothe Truth.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

Sir

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

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”

sometimes

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

state

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

states

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

trimming

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

Truth

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

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

whetherconjunctionUS /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

whosedeterminerUS /huːz/

belonging to which person

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Le Sage, in the course of a pleasant little drive with Audrey, asked innumerable questions and answered none.

wornverbUS /wɔːrn/

Damaged or thinned by continuous use.

From this reading Truth with her was at least a state of nature--though it might sometimes have worn with greater credit to itself a little more trimming--and states of nature are relatively pardonable in the young.

young

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

From this reading This idiosyncrasy of his greatly amused the young lady, who was by disposition frankly outspoken, and whose habit it never was to consider in conversation whether she committed herself or any one else.

yourspronounUS /jʊrz/

the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to

From this reading “This Sir Francis,” asked the Baron, “he is an old friend of yours?”