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All Jackson's Children
All Jackson's Children

Chapter I

Cover illustration for All Jackson's Children
Context Illustration Reading 1/110 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!
Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.
Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.
Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...
3070 ...
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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.

All Jackson's Children

Chapter I

Reading 1/110 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!
Line 2
Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.
Line 3
Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.
Line 4
Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...
Line 5
3070 ...

Learner Dictionary

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

Themselves pronoun US /ðemˈselvz/

used when the people doing the action are also its object

From this reading “Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!”

Under preposition US /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading “Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.”

Wrecked adjective US /rɛkt/

destroyed or damaged by shipwreck

From this reading “Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.”

All words in this reading · 49

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

3070

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

From this reading 3070 ...

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

all

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

Angus

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

answer

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

back

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

bow

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

cargo

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

carrier

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

chances

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

coaxed

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

crumpled

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

designation

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

eyebrows

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

gorge

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

gray

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

hung

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

Letter

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

literally

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

McIntosh

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

nameplate

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

number

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

out

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

prayer

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

RT

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

scuffed

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

shaggy

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

spacer

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

squinted

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

stepped

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

tarnished

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

TheirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

themselvespronounUS /ðemˈselvz/

used when the people doing the action are also its object

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

Then

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

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading Then he stepped back and squinted under shaggy gray eyebrows.

vigorously

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

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.

vine-matted

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

From this reading Letter by letter, number by number, he coaxed out the designation on the crumpled bow of the spacer in the vine-matted gorge: "RT ...

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading Their chances hung literally on a prayer ... which they had to answer all by themselves!

wreckedadjectiveUS /rɛkt/

destroyed or damaged by shipwreck

From this reading Angus McIntosh vigorously scuffed the tarnished nameplate on the wrecked cargo carrier.