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An Annapolis First Classman
An Annapolis First Classman

Chapter V

Cover illustration for An Annapolis First Classman
Context Illustration Reading 1/33 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.
About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.
Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.
And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.
The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.
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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.

An Annapolis First Classman

Chapter V

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

Line 1
A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.
Line 2
About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.
Line 3
Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.
Line 4
And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.
Line 5
The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

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 “About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.”

Academy noun US /əˈkæd.ə.mi/

A place of study or training in a special field of knowledge and arts.

From this reading “Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.”

Except preposition US /ɪkˈsept/

apart from; not including

From this reading “About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.”

MYSTERIOUS adjective US /mɪˈstɪriəs/

difficult to explain or understand

From this reading “A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.”

Quite noun US /quite/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.”

Those determiner US /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading “Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.”

All words in this reading · 62

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 A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

AboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

AcademynounUS /əˈkæd.ə.mi/

A place of study or training in a special field of knowledge and arts.

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

afternoons

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

all

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

Annapolis

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

auspiciously

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

Bligh

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

coach

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

CRY

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

Danton

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

drills

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

exceptprepositionUS /ɪkˈsept/

apart from; not including

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

excused

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

famous

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

field

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

fifty

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

football

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

games

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

Gates

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

head

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

hopeful

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

From this reading And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

members

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

midshipmen

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

MYSTERIOUSadjectiveUS /mɪˈstɪriəs/

difficult to explain or understand

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

Naval

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

old

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

opened

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

others

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

From this reading And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.

play

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

played

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

player

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

players

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

previous

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

Professor

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

quitenounUS /quite/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.

regular

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

Robert

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

From this reading And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.

season

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

seasoned

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

selected

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.

squad

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

Stonewell

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

From this reading And so Stonewell and Robert and others were quite hopeful.

team

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading A MYSTERIOUS CRY The football season opened auspiciously for Annapolis.

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.

two

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

week

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

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading About fifty midshipmen were members of the football squad; these were excused from drills except on two afternoons of the week.

Yale

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

From this reading The head coach was Professor Danton, the field coach Gates, a famous old Yale player.

year

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

From this reading Of those selected to play in regular games all were seasoned players, and except Bligh, all had played on the Naval Academy team the previous year.