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A Modern Wizard
A Modern Wizard

Chapter XXI

Cover illustration for A Modern Wizard
Context Illustration Reading 1/54 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE BETROTHAL.
The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.
He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.
The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.
His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.
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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 Wizard

Chapter XXI

Reading 1/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE BETROTHAL.
Line 2
The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.
Line 3
He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.
Line 4
The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.
Line 5
His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

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 “The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.”

Doctor noun US /doctor/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.”

Even noun US /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.”

Forward noun US /forward/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.”

Free adjective US /friː/

acting without enough restraint or discipline

From this reading “The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.”

Having auxiliary verb US /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading “His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.”

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.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

begannounUS /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.

BETROTHAL

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

From this reading THE BETROTHAL.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

coward

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

darkness

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

defying

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

descend

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

From this reading The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

DoctornounUS /doctor/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

down

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

effort

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

feared

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

forwardnounUS /forward/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

freeadjectiveUS /friː/

acting without enough restraint or discipline

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

Judge

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

laboratory

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

light

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

made

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

man

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

many

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

Medjora

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

offered

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

pitchy

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

reason

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

resistance

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

showed

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

slight

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

stairway

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

From this reading The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.

straight

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

From this reading The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE BETROTHAL.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

trap-door

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

From this reading The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.

urged

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

very

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

From this reading The Judge offered very slight resistance as Doctor Medjora urged him forward, and even in the pitchy darkness of the laboratory he made no effort to free himself.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

way

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Doctor went straight to the trap-door, and began to descend the stairway.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.

whompronounUS /huːm/

the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading He was no coward, and in defying this man whom so many feared, he showed that he feared no man.

wish

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

From this reading His reason for having no light in the laboratory was, that he did not wish the Judge to know by what way they went down.