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The Time Machine
The Time Machine

Chapter IX

When Night Came “Now, indeed, I seemed in a worse case than before.

Chapter 09, section 1: “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness. Man had been content to live in ease and de
Context Illustration Reading 1/33 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.
Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.
I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.
But this attitude of mind was impossible.
However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.
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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.

The Time Machine

Chapter IX

Reading 1/33 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.
Line 2
Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.
Line 3
I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.
Line 4
But this attitude of mind was impossible.
Line 5
However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

Learner Dictionary

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

tried adjective US /traɪd/

tested and proved useful or correct

From this reading ““Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.”

Collocations
Then IA source-grounded phrase from this reading.
I triedA source-grounded phrase from this reading.
All words in this reading · 74

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 “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

aristocracy

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

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

attitude

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

From this reading But this attitude of mind was impossible.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But this attitude of mind was impossible.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

Carlyle-like

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

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

claim

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

coming

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

content

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

decay

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

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

degradation

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

delight

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

ease

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

Eloi

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

excuse

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

Fear

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

fellow-man

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

form

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

fullness

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

greatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

home

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

horror

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

HoweveradverbUS /ˌhaʊˈevər/

used to add a contrasting statement

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

human

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

impossible

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

From this reading But this attitude of mind was impossible.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

intellectual

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

kept

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

labours

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

live

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

Man

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

mindnounUS /mind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading But this attitude of mind was impossible.

much

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

Necessity

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

perforce

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

preserve

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

punishment

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

regarding

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

rigorous

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

scorn

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

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

selfishness

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

sharer

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

sympathy

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

taken

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

Then

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

too

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

From this reading However great their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a sharer in their degradation and their Fear.

triedadjectiveUS /traɪd/

tested and proved useful or correct

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading “Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human selfishness.

watchword

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

From this reading Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to him.

wretched

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

From this reading I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy in decay.

Chapter Quiz

What is the central narrative or theme conveyed in this section of Chapter 09?

Which core linguistic virtue or character attribute is emphasized in this passage?

According to the text: "X....", what tone does the author establish?

Shadowing Practice

Narrator: X.
Narrator: Here too were