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A Book
A Book

Chapter II

Cover illustration for A Book
Context Illustration Reading 1/85 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:
“You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”
She seldom got answers to her remarks.
Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.
Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”
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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.

A Book

Chapter II

Reading 1/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:
Line 2
“You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”
Line 3
She seldom got answers to her remarks.
Line 4
Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.
Line 5
Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

Learner Dictionary

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

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.””

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.””

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.”

Stand noun US /stand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:”

Sure noun US /sure/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:”

All words in this reading · 63

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 She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

adding

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

answers

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

From this reading She seldom got answers to her remarks.

apart

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

back

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

catching

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

chair

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

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

ComenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

continue

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

eyes

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

Finally

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

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

finished

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

fireplace

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

got

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

From this reading She seldom got answers to her remarks.

grunting

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

heels

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

high

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

lifting

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

Louis-Georges

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

paper

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

push

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

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

remarks

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

From this reading She seldom got answers to her remarks.

ruin

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

saying

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

seldom

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

From this reading She seldom got answers to her remarks.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

sheets

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

silk

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

skirt

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

smiling

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

stand

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

stop

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

stretched

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

surenounUS /sure/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

tapping

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

tea

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

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

there

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

Vanka

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading Finally Louis-Georges would push back his chair, saying: “Come, we will have tea.”

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Louis-Georges would continue, grunting at her, to be sure, and smiling, but never lifting his eyes: and as for Vanka he would stand there, catching the sheets of paper as they were finished.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

won't

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

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading She would stand with her back to the fireplace, her high heels a little apart, tapping the stretched silk of her skirt, saying:

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “You will ruin your eyes,” adding: “Vanka, won’t you stop him?”