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The Young Step-Mother
The Young Step-Mother

Chapter XXV

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Context Illustration Reading 1/120 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’
‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.
‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’
‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’
‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.
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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 Step-Mother

Chapter XXV

Reading 1/120 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’
Line 2
‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.
Line 3
‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’
Line 4
‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’
Line 5
‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

Learner Dictionary

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

Drink noun US /drink/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’”

Poor noun US /poor/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.”

Shall modal verb US /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading “‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’”

Sovereign adjective US /ˈsɑːv.rən/

Possessing supreme or ultimate power; autonomous and commanding.

From this reading “‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’”

Take noun US /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.”

Those determiner US /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading “‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’”

All words in this reading · 78

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 ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

Algernon

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

alighted

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

Any

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

From this reading ‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

assembled

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

Bayford

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

care

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

carriage

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

cavalry

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

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

Cavendish

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

cry

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

demand

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

From this reading ‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

don't

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

drink

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

Dusautoy

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

Eh

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

Exulting

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

fellows

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

Gilbert

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

From this reading ‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.

glad

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

Haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

heard

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

household

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

landed

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

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

Lawn

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

Lucy's

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

From this reading ‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.

Mr

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

Mrs

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

news

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

From this reading ‘Any news of Gilbert?’ was Lucy’s demand.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

only

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

out

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

peals

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

poornounUS /poor/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

rang

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

ringers

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

said

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

say

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

Sebastopol

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

send

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

sovereignadjectiveUS /ˈsɑːv.rən/

Possessing supreme or ultimate power; autonomous and commanding.

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

takenounUS /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

taken

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

thank

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

tower

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

uncle

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

up

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

From this reading ‘I say, uncle,’ said Algernon, ‘shall I send up a sovereign to those ringers?’

very

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

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

vicar

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading ‘Eh! poor fellows, they will be very glad of it, thank you; only I must take care they don’t drink it up.

Willow

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

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading ‘No, the cavalry were not landed, so he had nothing to do with it.’

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Exulting peals rang out from the Bayford tower, and as Mr. and Mrs. Cavendish Dusautoy alighted from their carriage at Willow Lawn, the cry of the vicar and of the assembled household was, ‘Have you heard that Sebastopol is taken?’