Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Dora Thorne
Dora Thorne

Chapter XXXVII

Cover illustration for Dora Thorne
Context Illustration Reading 1/87 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.
The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.
They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.
The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.
Lady Helena took her seat.
0:00 / 0:00
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.

Dora Thorne

Chapter XXXVII

Reading 1/87 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.
Line 2
The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.
Line 3
They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.
Line 4
The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.
Line 5
Lady Helena took her seat.

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.”

Handsome noun US /ˈhandsome/

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

From this reading “The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.”

Silver noun US /silver/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Lady Helena took her seat.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.”

Waiting noun US /ˈwaiting/

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

From this reading “The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.”

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.

Airlie

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

breakfast

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

bright

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

calm

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

china

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

countenance

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

delicate

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

Earlescourt

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

face

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

features

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

fell

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

grave

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

handsomenounUS /ˈhandsome/

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

Helena

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

Lady

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

Lord

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

occupants

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

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

off

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

perfection

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

pretty

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

rays

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

room

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

seat

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

From this reading Lady Helena took her seat.

shone

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

showed

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

silver

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

son

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

sparkled

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

stately

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

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

sun

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

table

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

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

three

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

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading They sparkled on the delicate silver, and showed off the pretty china to perfection.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Lady Helena took her seat.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading The rays fell upon the calm, stately face of Lady Helena, upon the grave countenance of her son, upon the bright, handsome features of Lord Airlie.

waiting

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

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.

warm

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

From this reading The sun shone bright and warm in the breakfast room at Earlescourt.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The breakfast was upon the table, but the three occupants of the room had been waiting.