Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Tommy
Tommy

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for Tommy
Context Illustration Reading 1/52 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."
"A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"
"That's the question.
But we cannot close our eyes to facts.
Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Tommy

Chapter IX

Reading 1/52 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."
Line 2
"A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"
Line 3
"That's the question.
Line 4
But we cannot close our eyes to facts.
Line 5
Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

Learner Dictionary

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

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.”

Around preposition US /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading “"Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “"Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “"A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"”

Question noun US /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading “"That's the question.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.”

Treachery noun US /ˈtrɛtʃəri/

betrayal of trust

From this reading “"Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."”

Well noun US /well/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."”

All words in this reading · 50

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 "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

bat

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

blind

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

Blount

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

Blundell

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

cannot

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

From this reading But we cannot close our eyes to facts.

close

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

From this reading But we cannot close our eyes to facts.

Colonel

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

discovered

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

enemy

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

evidently

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

eyes

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

From this reading But we cannot close our eyes to facts.

face

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

facts

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

From this reading But we cannot close our eyes to facts.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

Major

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

Major's

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

man

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

only

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading But we cannot close our eyes to facts.

plans

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

questionnounUS /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading "That's the question.

reply

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

revealed

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

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

said

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

see

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

That's

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

From this reading "That's the question.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

there's

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

TimenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Time after time our plans have been discovered, and not only discovered, but evidently revealed to the enemy.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

treacherynounUS /ˈtrɛtʃəri/

betrayal of trust

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

well

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading "A man must be as blind as a bat not to see that," was the Major's reply, "but where is it?"

Yes

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

From this reading "Yes," said Colonel Blount to Major Blundell, "there's treachery around; we may as well face it."