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A Difficult Problem: 1900
A Difficult Problem: 1900

Chapter I

Cover illustration for A Difficult Problem: 1900
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
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By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”
I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.
“Is there anything I can do to serve you?”
I asked, rising.
She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.
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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 Difficult Problem: 1900

Chapter I

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”
Line 2
I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.
Line 3
“Is there anything I can do to serve you?”
Line 4
I asked, rising.
Line 5
She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

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 ““Is there anything I can do to serve you?””

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I asked, rising.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading “She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.”

Once noun US /once/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.”

All words in this reading · 52

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 By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

Anna

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading “Is there anything I can do to serve you?”

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I asked, rising.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

beauty

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

ByprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading “Is there anything I can do to serve you?”

candor

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

cast

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

chair

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

Charles

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

child-like

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading “Is there anything I can do to serve you?”

full

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

grace

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

Green

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

impressed

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

introduced

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

Isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading “Is there anything I can do to serve you?”

Katharine

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

LADY

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

Mrs

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

once

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

out

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

person

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

pointed

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

rising

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

From this reading I asked, rising.

Rohlfs

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

seated

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

see

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

serve

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

From this reading “Is there anything I can do to serve you?”

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

sir

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

there

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

From this reading “Is there anything I can do to serve you?”

thus

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”

trust

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

From this reading She cast me a child-like look full of trust and candor as she seated herself in the chair I pointed out to her.

up

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading I looked up and was at once impressed by the grace and beauty of the person thus introduced to me.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading By Anna Katharine Green (Mrs. Charles Rohlfs) “A LADY to see you, sir.”