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A Bicycle of Cathay
A Bicycle of Cathay

Chapter VII

Cover illustration for A Bicycle of Cathay
Context Illustration Reading 1/33 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
"Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
I will not go any farther!
Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

A Bicycle of Cathay

Chapter VII

Reading 1/33 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.
Line 2
There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.
Line 3
"Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!
Line 4
I will not go any farther!
Line 5
Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

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 “Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"”

Done noun US /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"”

Imagine noun US /ˈimagine/

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

From this reading “Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"”

All words in this reading · 46

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

afraid

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

any

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

From this reading I will not go any farther!

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

back

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

bear

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

beast

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

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

calmly

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

Canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

Chester

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

donenounUS /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

exclaimed

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

farther

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

From this reading I will not go any farther!

go

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

From this reading I will not go any farther!

gone

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

haunches

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

hostess

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

hurried

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

imaginenounUS /ˈimagine/

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

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

Italian

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

master

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

Mrs

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading I will not go any farther!

Now

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

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

ORSO

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

sitting

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Now that his master is gone," my hostess exclaimed, "I am afraid of him!

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

There

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading There was the bear, sitting calmly on his haunches, but there was no Italian.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading I will not go any farther!

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"

yard

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

From this reading ORSO Mrs. Chester and I hurried back to the yard.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Can you imagine anything that can be done with that beast?"