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Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty
Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty
Context Illustration Reading 1/73 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.
Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.
From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.
It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.
It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.
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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.

Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty

Chapter IX

Reading 1/73 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.
Line 2
Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.
Line 3
From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.
Line 4
It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.
Line 5
It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

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 “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

Ashes noun US /ˈæʃ.ɪz/

The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.

From this reading “Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.”

Chilly adjective US /ˈtʃɪli/

unpleasantly cold

From this reading “It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.”

Done noun US /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

During preposition US /ˈdʊrɪŋ/

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading “It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.”

Fine noun US /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.”

Foot noun US /foot/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

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

From this reading “It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.”

All words in this reading · 84

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 It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

ashesnounUS /ˈæʃ.ɪz/

The powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

assure

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

burnt

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

busied

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

chair

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

chillyadjectiveUS /ˈtʃɪli/

unpleasantly cold

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

cold

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

companion

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

dank

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

depart

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

donenounUS /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

down

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

drenched

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

dress

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

duringprepositionUS /ˈdʊrɪŋ/

all through a period, or at some point within it

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

effort

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

fanned

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

finenounUS /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

fire

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

footnounUS /foot/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

FromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

glanced

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

half-extinguished

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

hard

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

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

hat

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

head

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

HerdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

hours

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

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

jaws

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

low

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

making

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

night

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

noon

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

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

pains

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

parlour

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

placed

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

previous

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

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

quiet

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

rained

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

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

raked

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

rattled

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

reason

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

remaining

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

shivered

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

shoulder

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

sinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

some

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

From this reading It had rained hard during the previous night and for some hours in the morning, but since noon it had been fine.

stooping

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

strange

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading From time to time he glanced at her over his shoulder, as though to assure himself of her remaining quiet and making no effort to depart; and that done, busied himself about the fire again.

together

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

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

wet

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

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.

widow's

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

From this reading It was a chilly night, and the fire in the widow’s parlour had burnt low.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Her strange companion placed her in a chair, and stooping down before the half-extinguished ashes, raked them together and fanned them with his hat.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading It was not without reason that he took these pains, for his dress was dank and drenched with wet, his jaws rattled with cold, and he shivered from head to foot.