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Violet Forster's Lover
Violet Forster's Lover

Chapter XXII

Cover illustration for Violet Forster's Lover
Context Illustration Reading 1/55 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.
She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.
All was still.
The curtains had not yet been drawn.
In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.
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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.

Violet Forster's Lover

Chapter XXII

Reading 1/55 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.
Line 2
She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.
Line 3
All was still.
Line 4
The curtains had not yet been drawn.
Line 5
In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

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 “She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “The curtains had not yet been drawn.”

Despite preposition US /dɪˈspaɪt/

although something is true; in spite of

From this reading “In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “All was still.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading “In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “The curtains had not yet been drawn.”

All words in this reading · 49

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 In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

All

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

From this reading All was still.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

apartment

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

bedroom

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The curtains had not yet been drawn.

Cantyre

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

closed

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

comes

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

Countess

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

curtains

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

From this reading The curtains had not yet been drawn.

despiteprepositionUS /dɪˈspaɪt/

although something is true; in spite of

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

door

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

drawn

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

From this reading The curtains had not yet been drawn.

Forster's

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

gently

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

inquiringly

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

Miss

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

motionless

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

night

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading The curtains had not yet been drawn.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

opened

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

remaining

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She closed the door as gently as she had opened it, and, remaining motionless, looked inquiringly about her.

size

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

smell

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

softly

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading All was still.

stuffy

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

Violet

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Countess and Violet Miss Forster's bedroom door was gently opened, and the Countess of Cantyre went softly in.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

windows

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

From this reading In the apartment, despite its size, was the stuffy smell which comes to a bedroom when the windows have not been opened through the night.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading The curtains had not yet been drawn.