Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Young Captain Jack
Young Captain Jack

Chapter XX

Cover illustration for Young Captain Jack
Context Illustration Reading 1/27 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A LIVELY FIRE.
In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.
"The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.
"The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."
"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Young Captain Jack

Chapter XX

Reading 1/27 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A LIVELY FIRE.
Line 2
In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.
Line 3
"The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.
Line 4
"The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."
Line 5
"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

Learner Dictionary

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

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “"The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."”

Another noun US /ˈanother/

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

From this reading “"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.”

Brought noun US /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading “In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.”

Captain noun US /ˈcaptain/

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

From this reading “"The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.”

Meantime noun US /ˈmiːntaɪm/

the period of time while something else is happening

From this reading “In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.”

Several noun US /ˈseveral/

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

From this reading “In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.”

Short adjective US /ʃɔrt/

brief or direct in expression

From this reading “In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.”

Somebody pronoun US /ˈsʌmbɑːdi/

a person, without saying who

From this reading “"Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.”

All words in this reading · 59

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 A LIVELY FIRE.

affair

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

anothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

barn

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

boys

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

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

broughtnounUS /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

burning

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

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

captainnounUS /ˈcaptain/

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

corner

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

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

FIRE

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

From this reading A LIVELY FIRE.

forth

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

garret

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

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

gone

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

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

Guard

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

heavy

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

Home

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

Jack

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

ladders

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

LIVELY

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

From this reading A LIVELY FIRE.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

made

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

meantimenounUS /ˈmiːntaɪm/

the period of time while something else is happening

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

other

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

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

others

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

place

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

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

placed

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

roof

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

said

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

set

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

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

several

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

shortadjectiveUS /ʃɔrt/

brief or direct in expression

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

SomebodypronounUS /ˈsʌmbɑːdi/

a person, without saying who

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

strongest

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

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Somebody must have gone into the garret to set that fire," said another of the boys.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

two

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

veranda

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

way

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading "The other we can place against the corner, where the fire is burning the strongest."

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading In the meantime Jack and several others of the Home Guard had made their way to the barn and brought forth two ladders, a short affair and one which was both long and heavy.

young

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

From this reading "The short one can be placed on the veranda roof," said the young captain.