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When You Were a Boy
When You Were a Boy

Chapter V

Cover illustration for When You Were a Boy
Context Illustration Reading 1/86 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.
Boys are so stupid!
Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.
You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.
Billy Lunt went in next.
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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.

When You Were a Boy

Chapter V

Reading 1/86 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.
Line 2
Boys are so stupid!
Line 3
Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.
Line 4
You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.
Line 5
Billy Lunt went in next.

Learner Dictionary

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

Another noun US /ˈanother/

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

From this reading “Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.”

Next noun US /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Billy Lunt went in next.”

None pronoun US /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading “How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Billy Lunt went in next.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.”

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.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

AnothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading Boys are so stupid!

back

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

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

Billy

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

From this reading Billy Lunt went in next.

Boys

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

From this reading Boys are so stupid!

called

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

clapped

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

dived

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

duplicity

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

exasperated

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

female

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

How

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

louder

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

Lucy

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

Lunt

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

From this reading Billy Lunt went in next.

Mary

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

more

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

nextnounUS /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Billy Lunt went in next.

nonepronounUS /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

out

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

own

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

pay

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

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

refuge

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

resolved

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

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

sex

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

shrieked

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading Boys are so stupid!

sometime

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

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

stupid

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

From this reading Boys are so stupid!

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

truth

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

unwittingly

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

vengefully

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

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

victim

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

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.

Webster

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

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Billy Lunt went in next.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

whompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading You resolved that sometime you would pay Mary Webster back.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading How they shrieked, and how they clapped; none louder than Mary, and none more vengefully than Lucy—Lucy, who, in truth, had called you, and whom you had unwittingly exasperated.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Another victim of female duplicity, out you dived for the refuge of your own sex.