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Theresa Raquin
Theresa Raquin

Chapter IX

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Context Illustration Reading 1/34 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.
He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.
Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.
He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.
At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.
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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.

Theresa Raquin

Chapter IX

Reading 1/34 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.
Line 2
He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.
Line 3
Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.
Line 4
He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.
Line 5
At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

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 “One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.”

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.”

Already noun US /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.”

Broken noun US /broken/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.”

Expecting verb US /ɪkˈspektɪŋ/

thinking that somebody or something will arrive

From this reading “One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.”

Forbidden adjective US /fərˈbɪd.ən/

Not allowed; banned or prohibited by rule or law.

From this reading “One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading “One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.”

Remained noun US /ˈremained/

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

From this reading “Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.”

Understand noun US /understand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.”

Until preposition US /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading “Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.”

All words in this reading · 70

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 At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

absent

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

alreadynounUS /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

authorities

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

brokennounUS /broken/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

chair

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

From this reading Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.

chief

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

countenance

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

dared

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

From this reading He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.

decided

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

despair

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

From this reading Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.

dismiss

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

earn

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

From this reading He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.

eventide

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

From this reading Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.

expectingverbUS /ɪkˈspektɪŋ/

thinking that somebody or something will arrive

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

explain

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

find

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

forbiddenadjectiveUS /fərˈbɪd.ən/

Not allowed; banned or prohibited by rule or law.

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

future

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

gave

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

holidays

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

hours

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

how

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

Laurent

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

leaving

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

living

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

From this reading He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.

lose

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

From this reading He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.

many

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

meet

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

night

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

office

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

opportunity

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

out

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

place

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

From this reading He had to earn his living, and dared not lose his place.

remainednounUS /ˈremained/

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

From this reading Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.

Riveted

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

From this reading Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.

run

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

taken

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

Thérèse

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

too

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

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

torture

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

unable

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

understandnounUS /understand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

untilprepositionUS /ənˈtɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading Riveted to his chair, he remained in despair until eventide.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He had taken too many holidays already, and the authorities had decided to dismiss him if he again went out in office hours.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading One afternoon, as Laurent was leaving his office to run and meet Thérèse who was expecting him, his chief gave him to understand that in future he was forbidden to absent himself.

word

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.

wrathful

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

From this reading At night the wrathful countenance of Thérèse was a torture to him, and he was unable to find an opportunity to explain to her how it was he had broken his word.