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

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for Twilight sleep
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.
A naughty ancestress!
Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?
You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?
What gallery is it in?
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.

Twilight sleep

Chapter XI

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.
Line 2
A naughty ancestress!
Line 3
Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?
Line 4
You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?
Line 5
What gallery is it in?

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “"It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.”

Between preposition US /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading “"It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.”

Blood noun US /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.”

Ourselves pronoun US /aʊərˈselvz/

used when we are both doing the action and receiving it

From this reading “"It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.”

Perhaps noun US /perhaps/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?”

Remember verb US /rɪˈmɛm.bər/

To recall to mind.

From this reading “You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?”

Wonderful noun US /ˈwonderful/

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

From this reading “You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?”

All words in this reading · 38

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 "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

always

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

ancestress

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

From this reading A naughty ancestress!

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

black

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

bloodnounUS /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

Borgia

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

Cæsar

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

Fedele

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

gallery

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

From this reading What gallery is it in?

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading What gallery is it in?

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading What gallery is it in?

It's

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

likeness

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

From this reading Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?

naughty

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

From this reading A naughty ancestress!

noticed

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

From this reading Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

ourselvespronounUS /aʊərˈselvz/

used when we are both doing the action and receiving it

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

Perhaps

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

From this reading Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?

portrait

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

profile

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

rememberverbUS /rɪˈmɛm.bər/

To recall to mind.

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

rumour

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

San

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

see

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

side

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

there's

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

type

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

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

velvet

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What gallery is it in?

wonderfulnounUS /ˈwonderful/

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

From this reading You remember that wonderful profile portrait of Cæsar Borgia in black velvet?

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "It's the type, you see: between ourselves, there's always been a rumour of Borgia blood on the San Fedele side.

you've

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

From this reading Perhaps you've noticed the likeness?