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Daireen. Complete
Daireen. Complete

Chapter XXXV

Cover illustration for Daireen. Complete
Context Illustration Reading 1/22 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!
You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?
Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.
|OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.
The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.
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Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Daireen. Complete

Chapter XXXV

Reading 1/22 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!
Line 2
You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?
Line 3
Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.
Line 4
|OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.
Line 5
The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

Learner Dictionary

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

Below preposition US /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading “The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.”

Blood noun US /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!”

Open verb US /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading “The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.”

Pipe noun US /pipe/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”

Terrible noun US /ˈterrible/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.”

All words in this reading · 80

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 Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/

at or to a lower level than something

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

bloodnounUS /blood/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

Call

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

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

came

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

cannot

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

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

Cape

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

compass

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

dashed

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

Dutch

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

easier

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

fret

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

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

Hamlet

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

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

heart

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

hotel

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

how

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

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

instrument

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

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

Kafir

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

lowest

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

Malay

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

Markham

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

mingling

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

mystery

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

note

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

now

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

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

OSWIN

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

out

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

own

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

pipe

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

play

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

played

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

pluck

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

room

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

S

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

sat

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

From this reading |OSWIN Markham sat in his own room in the hotel.

seem

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

sound

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

sounds

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

stops

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

street

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

terriblenounUS /ˈterrible/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

top

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

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

Town

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

unworthy

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

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

usual

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

Why

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

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

window

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

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The window was open, and through it from the street below came the usual sounds of Cape Town--terrible Dutch mingling with Malay and dashed with Kafir.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass....'S blood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.--_Hamlet_.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me!