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Under One Flag
Under One Flag

Chapter XIII

Cover illustration for Under One Flag
Context Illustration Reading 1/80 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.
"What term of renewal would you require?"
"The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."
"Ninety-nine years, Mr Boulter?"
Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."
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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.

Under One Flag

Chapter XIII

Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.
Line 2
"What term of renewal would you require?"
Line 3
"The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."
Line 4
"Ninety-nine years, Mr Boulter?"
Line 5
Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

Learner Dictionary

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

Anything pronoun US /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading “Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."”

Last noun US /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “"What term of renewal would you require?"”

All words in this reading · 41

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 Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

bit

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

Boulter

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

From this reading "Ninety-nine years, Mr Boulter?"

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

cause

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

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

Dean

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

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

get

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

hesitated

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

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

lastnounUS /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

lease

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

like

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

Mr

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

From this reading "Ninety-nine years, Mr Boulter?"

ninety-nine

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

promise

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

renewal

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

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"

require

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

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

sufficient

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

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

term

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

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

want

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The Dean still hesitated--with sufficient cause.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"

writing

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

From this reading Mr Boulter did not get a promise of renewal for ninety-nine years, or anything like it, but he did get "a bit of writing."

years

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

From this reading "The last lease was for ninety-nine years, and I want this lease to be for ninety-nine."

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "What term of renewal would you require?"