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The Tempting of Tavernake
The Tempting of Tavernake

Chapter XXII · Close to Tragedy

Cover illustration for The Tempting of Tavernake
Context Illustration Reading 1/59 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.
The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.
At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.
He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.
Neither was his expression prepossessing.
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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 Tempting of Tavernake

Chapter XXII · Close to Tragedy

Reading 1/59 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.
Line 2
The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.
Line 3
At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.
Line 4
He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.
Line 5
Neither was his expression prepossessing.

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 “He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.”

Between preposition US /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading “The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.”

Even noun US /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.”

Neither determiner US /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

From this reading “Neither was his expression prepossessing.”

Passed noun US /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.”

Resting noun US /ˈresting/

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

From this reading “The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.”

Something pronoun US /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading “He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.”

Towards preposition US /təˈwɔːrdz/

in the direction of

From this reading “The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.”

Whose determiner US /huːz/

belonging to which person

From this reading “The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.”

All words in this reading · 61

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 He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

actual

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

advent

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

caused

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

close

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

decadent

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

deep-set

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

Elizabeth

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

emotion

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

expression

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

From this reading Neither was his expression prepossessing.

eyes

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

faultily

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

fingers

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

forehead

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

greeting

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

leaned

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

man

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

more

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

much

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

NeitherdeterminerUS /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

From this reading Neither was his expression prepossessing.

newcomer

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

passednounUS /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

prepossessing

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

From this reading Neither was his expression prepossessing.

quarters

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

receding

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

restingnounUS /ˈresting/

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

seen

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

shaped

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

slightly

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

tablecloth

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

Tavernake

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

there

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

From this reading He was faultily shaped; there was something a little decadent about his deep-set eyes and receding forehead.

tips

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

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

towardsprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrdz/

in the direction of

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

unattractive

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

unimpressive

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading At close quarters, he was even more unattractive than when Tavernake had first seen him.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

whosedeterminerUS /huːz/

belonging to which person

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The newcomer, with the tips of his fingers resting upon the tablecloth, leaned slightly towards her.

words

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

From this reading The actual words of greeting which passed between Elizabeth and the man whose advent had caused her so much emotion were unimpressive.