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There & Back
There & Back

Chapter XXIII · _Lady Ann and Richard_

Cover illustration for There & Back
Context Illustration Reading 1/43 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.
Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.
Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.
The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.
The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.
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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.

There & Back

Chapter XXIII · _Lady Ann and Richard_

Reading 1/43 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.
Line 2
Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.
Line 3
Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.
Line 4
The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.
Line 5
The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

Learner Dictionary

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

Afternoon noun US /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading “The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.”

Along preposition US /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading “The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.”

Behind preposition US /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading “Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.”

Blood noun US /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.”

Forgotten adjective US /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading “Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.”

Hand noun US /hand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.”

Returned noun US /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading “Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.”

Same noun US /same/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.”

All words in this reading · 82

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 The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

angry

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

any

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

bear

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

bit

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

black-letter

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

bloodnounUS /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

Book

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

catastrophe

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

copy

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

courage

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

cut

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

door

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

edge

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

elbow

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

evil

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

fell

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

forgottenadjectiveUS /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

former

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

Fox's

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

fright

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

gave

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

glass

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

greatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

hand

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

heard

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

irremediable

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

just

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

library

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

made

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

Martyrs

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

mending

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

old

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

Opening

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

other

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

paper

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

paring

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

patch

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

pen-knife

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

penknives

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

piece

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

push

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

returnednounUS /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

Richard

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

samenounUS /same/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

sharpest

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

slid

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

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

softly

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

some

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

spouted

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

stole

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

title

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

too

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

torn

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

up

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

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading The pen-knife slid along the bit of glass he was paring upon, and cut his other hand.

Vixen

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

From this reading Vixen had forgotten her former fright, and her evil courage had returned.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The same afternoon, Richard was mending the torn title of a black-letter copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs.

washing

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

weak

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading The blood spouted, and some of it fell upon the title, which made Richard angry: it was an irremediable catastrophe, for the paper was too weak to bear any washing.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Opening the door of the library so softly that Richard heard nothing, she stole up behind him, and gave his elbow a great push just as, with the sharpest of penknives, he was paring the edge of a piece of old paper, to patch the title.