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Worth his while
Worth his while

Chapter II

Cover illustration for Worth his while
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.
He could not tell what he ought to do.
He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.
“What will mother think?” was his first thought.
“How shall I get back?” was his second.
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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.

Worth his while

Chapter II

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.
Line 2
He could not tell what he ought to do.
/hiː kʊd nɑːt tell wʌt hiː ɔːt tuː duː/
Line 3
He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.
Line 4
“What will mother think?” was his first thought.
Line 5
“How shall I get back?” was his second.

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 “He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.”

Bewildered noun US /bewildered/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “He could not tell what he ought to do.”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““What will mother think?” was his first thought.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.”

Ought modal verb US /ɔːt/

used with “to” to say what is right or advisable

From this reading “He could not tell what he ought to do.”

Question noun US /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading “He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.”

Quite noun US /quite/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.”

Second noun US /second/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““How shall I get back?” was his second.”

Shall modal verb US /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading ““How shall I get back?” was his second.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.”

Tell noun US /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He could not tell what he ought to do.”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““What will mother think?” was his first thought.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““What will mother think?” was his first thought.”

All words in this reading · 47

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 BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

ashore

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

back

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

From this reading “How shall I get back?” was his second.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

BENNY

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

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

bewilderednounUS /bewildered/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

fellow

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

FINDS

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

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “What will mother think?” was his first thought.

ForprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

FRIEND

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

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

get

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

From this reading “How shall I get back?” was his second.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading “What will mother think?” was his first thought.

How

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

From this reading “How shall I get back?” was his second.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading “How shall I get back?” was his second.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

moment

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

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

mother

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

From this reading “What will mother think?” was his first thought.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

oughtmodal verbUS /ɔːt/

used with “to” to say what is right or advisable

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

out

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

possible

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

questionnounUS /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

quitenounUS /quite/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

second

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

From this reading “How shall I get back?” was his second.

send

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading “How shall I get back?” was his second.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

steamboat

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

tellnounUS /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading He had not been on a steamboat since he was quite a little fellow, and that it was possible to send him ashore was out of the question.

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “What will mother think?” was his first thought.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “What will mother think?” was his first thought.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading BENNY FINDS A FRIEND For a moment Benny was bewildered.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading He could not tell what he ought to do.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading “What will mother think?” was his first thought.