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The Tangled Skein
The Tangled Skein

Chapter XXII

Cover illustration for The Tangled Skein
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.
To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.
Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.
Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.
It had come about so strangely.
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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 Tangled Skein

Chapter XXII

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.
Line 2
To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.
Line 3
Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.
Line 4
Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.
Line 5
It had come about so strangely.
/ɪt hæd come əˈbaʊt soʊ ˈstrangely/

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “It had come about so strangely.”

Around preposition US /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading “Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.”

Behind preposition US /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading “To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.”

Between preposition US /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading “CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.”

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It had come about so strangely.”

Deceit noun US /dɪˈsiːt/

The action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.

From this reading “Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.”

During preposition US /ˈdʊrɪŋ/

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading “Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.”

Strangely noun US /ˈstrangely/

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

From this reading “It had come about so strangely.”

Suddenly noun US /ˈsuddenly/

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

From this reading “Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.”

Worn verb US /wɔːrn/

Damaged or thinned by continuous use.

From this reading “Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.”

All words in this reading · 79

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 CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading It had come about so strangely.

all

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

beautiful

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

buoyancy

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

chapter

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

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

CHECK

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

closed

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

colloquy

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It had come about so strangely.

deceitnounUS /dɪˈsiːt/

The action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth.

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

door

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

duringprepositionUS /ˈdʊrɪŋ/

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

elapsed

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

felt

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

few

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

filled

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

frailty

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

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

gladness

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

Glynde

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

gone

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

history

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

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

hung

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

illusions

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

inner

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

KING

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

lasted

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

learnt

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

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

Mary

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

millstone

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

minutes

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

more

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

neck

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

Now

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

old

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

out

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

probably

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

room

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

shattered

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

shutting

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

sight

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

small

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading It had come about so strangely.

soul

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

strangelynounUS /ˈstrangely/

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

From this reading It had come about so strangely.

suddenlynounUS /ˈsuddenly/

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

TOparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

Tudor

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

Ursula

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

From this reading CHECK TO THE KING The colloquy between Mary Tudor and Ursula Glynde had probably not lasted more than a few minutes.

vision

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

weary

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

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

Wessex

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.

woman's

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

From this reading Years! during which he had learnt chapter by chapter, the history of woman's frailty and deceit.

wornverbUS /wɔːrn/

Damaged or thinned by continuous use.

From this reading Now, he suddenly felt old, all the buoyancy had gone out of his life, and he was left worn and weary, with a millstone of shattered illusions hung around his neck.

years

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

From this reading To Wessex it seemed as if years had elapsed since he had closed the door of the small inner room behind him, shutting out from his sight the beautiful vision which had filled his soul with gladness.