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The young naval captain
The young naval captain

Chapter XVIII

Cover illustration for The young naval captain
Context Illustration Reading 1/26 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
PLAYING THE SPY.
Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.
He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.
He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.
In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.
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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 young naval captain

Chapter XVIII

Reading 1/26 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
PLAYING THE SPY.
Line 2
Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.
Line 3
He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.
Line 4
He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.
Line 5
In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

Learner Dictionary

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

Captain noun US /ˈcaptain/

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

From this reading “Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.”

Hand noun US /hand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.”

Ship noun US /ship/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.”

All words in this reading · 55

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 must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

belt

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

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

brace

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

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

CaptainnounUS /ˈcaptain/

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

carried

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

cautions

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

domain

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

easy

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

enemy's

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

expose

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

false

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

hand

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

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

heart

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

hesitate

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

kill

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

knew

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

knife

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

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

move

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

only

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

Oscar

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

Pelham

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

pistols

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

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

PLAYING

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

From this reading PLAYING THE SPY.

rested

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

From this reading In one hand he carried a long knife and in his belt rested a brace of pistols.

shipnounUS /ship/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

sight

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

SPY

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

From this reading PLAYING THE SPY.

strange

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading PLAYING THE SPY.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

thus

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

From this reading He must be cautions, for the ship was a strange one to him and it would be easy to make a false move and thus expose himself.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

too

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.

well

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

From this reading Captain Oscar Pelham knew only too well that he carried his life in his hands.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading He was in the heart of the enemy's domain, and they would not hesitate to kill him on sight.