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Three Weeks
Three Weeks

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for Three Weeks
Context Illustration Reading 1/39 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.
He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!
That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.
The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.
There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.
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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.

Three Weeks

Chapter IV

Reading 1/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.
Line 2
He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!
Line 3
That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.
Line 4
The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.
Line 5
There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

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 “That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.”

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.”

Anything pronoun US /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading “That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.”

Because conjunction US /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading “He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!”

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!”

Even noun US /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.”

Name noun US /name/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.”

Soon noun US /soon/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.”

Therefore adverb US /ˈðerfɔːr/

for that reason; as a result

From this reading “There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.”

Wonderful noun US /ˈwonderful/

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

From this reading “That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.”

All words in this reading · 84

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 problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

anxiety

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

arrive

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

becauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/

for the reason that

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

black

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

breakfast

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

call

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

conviction

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

descend

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

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

faced

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

few

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

finished

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

go

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

guessing

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

hall

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

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

hard

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

hotel

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

how

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

lady

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

late

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

like

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

List

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

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

Mme

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

namenounUS /name/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

numbers

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

only

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

ordinary

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

Paul

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

people

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

problem

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

promptly

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

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

rooms

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

searching

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

see

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

simplest

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

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

soon

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

suite

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

There

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

thereforeadverbUS /ˈðerfɔːr/

for that reason; as a result

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

thrilling

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

very

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

visitor

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

From this reading He could not go and call like an ordinary visitor, because he did not know her name!

Visitors

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

From this reading The simplest thing to do seemed to descend into the hall and look at the Visitors' List, which he promptly did.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading The problem which faced Paul, when he had finished a very late breakfast, was how he should see her soon--the lady in black.

whole

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

wonderfulnounUS /ˈwonderful/

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

From this reading That was wonderful--did not even know her name, or anything about her, only that his whole being was thrilling with anxiety to see her again.

Zalenska

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

From this reading There were only a few people in the hotel; it was not hard, therefore, guessing at the numbers of the rooms, to arrive at the conviction that "Mme. Zalenska and suite" might be what he was searching for.