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Ashes to ashes
Ashes to ashes

Chapter XXI

Cover illustration for Ashes to ashes
Context Illustration Reading 1/51 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.
More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.
The bills were numbered and traceable!
He should have thought of that!
But the gold!
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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.

Ashes to ashes

Chapter XXI

Reading 1/51 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.
Line 2
More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.
Line 3
The bills were numbered and traceable!
Line 4
He should have thought of that!
/hiː ʃʊd hæv thought ʌv ðæt/
Line 5
But the gold!

Learner Dictionary

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

Above preposition US /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading “More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.”

Half noun US /half/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “He should have thought of that!”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.”

Need noun US /need/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.”

Trifle noun US /ˈtraɪfəl/

something that needs very little effort

From this reading “The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.”

All words in this reading · 51

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 The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

any

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

Baffled

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

bills

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

From this reading The bills were numbered and traceable!

blow

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

coherent

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

controlled

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

crushing

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

despair

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

effort

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

forced

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

fury

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

gold

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

From this reading But the gold!

halfnounUS /half/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading He should have thought of that!

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

mighty

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

Millard's

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

moment

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

More

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

neednounUS /need/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

now

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

numbered

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

From this reading The bills were numbered and traceable!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

past

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

quick

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

rise

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading He should have thought of that!

Storm

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

swept

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

traceable

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

From this reading The bills were numbered and traceable!

TriflenounUS /ˈtraɪfəl/

something that needs very little effort

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

Unconsidered

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

vital

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

From this reading More vital than at any moment in the past was his need now of quick, coherent thought, and he forced himself to rise above the crushing blow.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The bills were numbered and traceable!

words

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

From this reading The Unconsidered Trifle Baffled fury that was half despair swept over Storm at Millard’s words, but he controlled himself by a mighty effort.