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Aaron in the Wildwoods
Aaron in the Wildwoods

Chapter II

Cover illustration for Aaron in the Wildwoods
Context Illustration Reading 1/89 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"
He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.
Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.
As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!
The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.
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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.

Aaron in the Wildwoods

Chapter II

Reading 1/89 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"
Line 2
He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.
Line 3
Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.
Line 4
As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!
Line 5
The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.”

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.”

Glee noun US /ɡliː/

great delight or happiness

From this reading “The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.”

Speak noun US /speak/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.”

All words in this reading · 64

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 Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

alien

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

all

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

Beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

bird

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

came

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

certainly

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

danced

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

deal

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

down

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

facts

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

fluttered

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

forth

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

frolic

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

fully

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

gleenounUS /ɡliː/

great delight or happiness

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

head

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

intended

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

investigate

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

jumped

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

large

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

made

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

Mr

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

mysteries

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

noise

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

off

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

oh

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

piping

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

quick

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

related

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

say

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

shook

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

sir

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

speak

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

strange

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

Swamp

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

there

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

torch-bearers

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

up

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

waltzed

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

Why

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

From this reading The strange bird fully intended to say, "Why, certainly, sir!"

Wildcat

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

From this reading As the noise was not alien, the Swamp and all its mysteries came forth to investigate, and oh, what a frolic there was when Mr. Wildcat related the facts!

Willis-Whistlers

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

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

wings

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

From this reading Being a large bird, he fluttered and shook his wings and jumped about a good deal.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The torch-bearers danced up and down with glee, and the mysteries waltzed to the quick piping of the Willis-Whistlers.

words

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

From this reading He had the words all made up, but his head was off before he could speak.