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A Modern Instance
A Modern Instance

Chapter XXI

Cover illustration for A Modern Instance
Context Illustration Reading 1/83 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.
She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.
She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.
At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.
“What--what is it?”
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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 Modern Instance

Chapter XXI

Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.
Line 2
She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.
Line 3
She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.
Line 4
At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.
Line 5
“What--what is it?”

Learner Dictionary

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

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.”

Below preposition US /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading “She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.”

Council noun US /council/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.”

Fluttering verb US /ˈflʌtərɪŋ/

moving with quick light beats or trembles

From this reading “She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.”

Name noun US /name/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.”

Toward preposition US /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading “At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.”

All words in this reading · 53

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

apparently

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

Bartley's

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

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

bed

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

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

breath

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

came

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

councilnounUS /council/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

crept

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

down

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

Flavia

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

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

flutteringverbUS /ˈflʌtərɪŋ/

moving with quick light beats or trembles

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

groping

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

heard

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

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

hesitantly

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

holding

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

hope

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading “What--what is it?”

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “What--what is it?”

like

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

Marcia

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

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

men

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

namenounUS /name/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

old

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

out

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

pulse

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

putting

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

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

ran

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

sight

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

stairs

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

taking

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

talking

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

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

terror

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She heard the talking below; she thought she heard Bartley's name.

three

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Marcia was putting little Flavia to bed.

way

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

From this reading At sight of the three men, apparently in council, she crept toward them, holding out her hands before her like one groping his way.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading “What--what is it?”

wild

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

From this reading She ran to the stairs, and came hesitantly down, the old wild hope and wild terror fluttering her pulse and taking her breath.