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A Book of Remarkable Criminals
A Book of Remarkable Criminals

Chapter XII

Cover illustration for A Book of Remarkable Criminals
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.
The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.
Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.
Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.
Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

A Book of Remarkable Criminals

Chapter XII

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

Line 1
This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.
Line 2
The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.
Line 3
Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.
Line 4
Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.
Line 5
Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

Learner Dictionary

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

Began noun US /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.”

Continued noun US /ˈcontinued/

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

From this reading “Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.”

Either determiner US /ˈiːðər/

one or the other of two

From this reading “The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.”

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.”

While conjunction US /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading “The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.”

All words in this reading · 66

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 This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

alive

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

aristocratic

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

begannounUS /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.

continuednounUS /ˈcontinued/

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

credit

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

death

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

deeper

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

Derues

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

Desperately

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

disaster

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

driven

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

Duplessis

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

eitherdeterminerUS /ˈiːðər/

one or the other of two

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

expected

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

fence

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

financial

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

forgot

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

goods

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.

hopeless

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

inheritance

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

insolvent

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

lower

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

merchandise

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

mire

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

money

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

money-lending

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

noblemen

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

off

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

only

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

ordering

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

pay

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

plunged

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

press

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

From this reading Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.

price

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

proved

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

ready

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

selling

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

seriously

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

From this reading Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

trade

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

From this reading This aristocratic money-lending proved a hopeless trade; it only plunged Derues deeper and deeper into the mire of financial disaster.

treatment

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

From this reading Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.

Victims

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

From this reading Victims of this treatment began to press him seriously for their money or their goods.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Derues was driven to ordering goods and merchandise on credit, and selling them at a lower price for ready money.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading The noblemen either forgot to pay while they were alive, or on their death were found to be insolvent.

windfall

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

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Desperately he continued to fence them off with the long expected windfall of the Duplessis inheritance.