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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
appearancenounUS /ˈappearance/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
away
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
BecauseconjunctionUS /bɪˈkɔːz/
for the reason that
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading New York lay below them.
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
cake
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
carrying
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
cities
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
Davis
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
down
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
dozen
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
faintly
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
far-distant
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
feet
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
flowed
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
flowing
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
greatnounUS /great/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
height
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
Hudson
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
ice
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
lay
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From this reading New York lay below them.
level
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
light
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
lights
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
lines
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
longnounUS /long/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
machine
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
made
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
meltingnounUS /ˈmelting/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
moonlit
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
more
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
mounted
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
Narrows
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
New
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From this reading New York lay below them.
night
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
now
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
obstacle
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
outlined
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/
above and across; more than
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
pin
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
placidly
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
points
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
ribbon
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
risen
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
sea
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From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
semidarkness
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
shining
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
silvery
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
smoothly
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
some
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
source
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From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
straight
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
strange
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
swift
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
ten
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading New York lay below them.
thousand
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
three
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
throughnounUS /ˈthrough/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/
in the direction of
From this reading Because of the ice cake in the Narrows its level had risen two or three feet, but now it flowed smoothly over that great obstacle, melting and carrying it away toward the sea.
towns
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From this reading Davis had mounted to a great height, some ten thousand feet, and the pin points of light outlined more than a dozen cities and towns.
two
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
up
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From this reading The long, straight lines of lights shining up through the semidarkness of the moonlit night made a strange appearance to the two in the swift machine.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Hudson was a faintly silvery ribbon flowing down placidly from a far-distant source.
York
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From this reading New York lay below them.
