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Two on a Tower
Two on a Tower

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for Two on a Tower
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.
She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.
'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.
'No. There are only about three thousand.
Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'
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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.

Two on a Tower

Chapter IV

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.
Line 2
She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.
Line 3
'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.
Line 4
'No. There are only about three thousand.
Line 5
Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

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 “'No. There are only about three thousand.”

Around preposition US /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading “She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.”

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.”

Brought noun US /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading “Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'”

Help noun US /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.”

Till preposition US /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading “till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.”

Within preposition US /wɪˈðɪn/

inside; before a period of time has passed

From this reading “Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'”

All words in this reading · 52

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 Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

absently

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

From this reading 'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

broughtnounUS /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

helpnounUS /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

high

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

how

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

hundreds

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

From this reading 'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

magnificent

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

many

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

moment

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

Now

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

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

Oh

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

From this reading 'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.

only

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

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

position

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

powerful

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

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

said

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

From this reading 'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

sight

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

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

sky

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

stars

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

stretch

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

telescope

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

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

There

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

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

thousand

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

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

thousands

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

From this reading 'Oh, thousands, hundreds of thousands,' she said absently.

three

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

From this reading 'No. There are only about three thousand.

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

unfolded

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

From this reading She looked around over the magnificent stretch of sky that their high position unfolded.

visible

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading till he asked her how many stars she thought were visible to them at that moment.

withinprepositionUS /wɪˈðɪn/

inside; before a period of time has passed

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Now, how many do you think are brought within sight by the help of a powerful telescope?'