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A Man Four-Square
A Man Four-Square

Chapter XV

Cover illustration for A Man Four-Square
Context Illustration Reading 1/29 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.
Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.
The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.
The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.
The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.
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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 Man Four-Square

Chapter XV

Reading 1/29 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.
Line 2
Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.
Line 3
The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.
Line 4
The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.
Line 5
The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

Learner Dictionary

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

Afternoon noun US /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading “The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.”

Details noun US /ˈdetails/

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

From this reading “The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.”

Passed noun US /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.”

All words in this reading · 58

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 The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

also

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

arrowweed

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

azalea

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

beautiful

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

bellflowers

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

blooming

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

cat-claw

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

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

chaps

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

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

charm

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

clustering

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

clutched

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

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

creosote

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

desert

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

detailsnounUS /ˈdetails/

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

everywhere

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

followed

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

Goodheart

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

green

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

Gun-Barrel

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

Jack

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

late

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

light

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

lovely

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

mesquite

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

Now

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

own

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

passednounUS /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.

pear

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

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

prickly

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

From this reading The prickly pear and the cat-claw clutched at his chaps.

rider

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

Road

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

sheen

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

silvery

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

soapweed

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

stunted

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

sunset

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

From this reading The details were not lovely, but in the sunset light of late afternoon the silvery sheen of the mesquite had its own charm for the rider.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

vegetation

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

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The arrowweed and the soapweed were everywhere, as was also the stunted creosote.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The Gun-Barrel Road Jack Goodheart followed the gun-barrel road into a desert green and beautiful with vegetation.

yucca

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

From this reading Now he passed a blooming azalea or a yucca with clustering bellflowers.