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A Book About Myself
A Book About Myself

Chapter XXXI

Cover illustration for A Book About Myself
Context Illustration Reading 1/24 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.
Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.
Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.
What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.
Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.
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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 About Myself

Chapter XXXI

Reading 1/24 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.
Line 2
Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.
Line 3
Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.
Line 4
What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.
Line 5
Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.”

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.”

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.”

Help noun US /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.”

Here noun US /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.”

Myself pronoun US /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading “What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.”

Toward preposition US /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading “Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.”

All words in this reading · 82

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 Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

anywhere

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

Aside

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

balancing

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

boasted

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

Buffalo

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

came

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

characteristic

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

Cleveland

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

day

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

decent

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

democracy

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

districts

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

drear

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

elevators

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

else

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

end

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

energy

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

equality

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

especial

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

factories

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

Falls

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

felt

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

FINDING

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

grain

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

helpnounUS /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

HerenounUS /here/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

hopeless

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

interest

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

manufacturing

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

March

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

misery

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

much

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

neighborhoods

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

odd

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

opportunity

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

picked

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

provided

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

railroad

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

reached

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

see

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

snap

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

soap

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

spite

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

squalor

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

tame

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

Then

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

there

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Aside from the Falls I found it a little tame, no especial snap to it—not as much as I had felt to be characteristic of Cleveland.

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

up

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

From this reading FINDING Cleveland hopeless for me, I one day picked up and left.

wandering

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading Then came Buffalo, which I reached toward the end of March.

world

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

From this reading Here, as in Cleveland, I could not help but see that in spite of our boasted democracy and equality of opportunity there was as much misery and squalor and as little decent balancing of opportunity against energy as anywhere else in the world.

yards

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

From this reading What interest there was for me I provided myself, wandering about in odd drear neighborhoods, about grain elevators and soap factories and railroad yards and manufacturing districts.