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Driven to bay, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Driven to bay, Vol. 1 (of 3)

Chapter V

Cover illustration for Driven to bay, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Context Illustration Reading 1/27 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
BREAKERS AHEAD.
Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.
He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.
Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.
So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.
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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.

Driven to bay, Vol. 1 (of 3)

Chapter V

Reading 1/27 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
BREAKERS AHEAD.
Line 2
Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.
Line 3
He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.
Line 4
Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.
Line 5
So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

Learner Dictionary

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

Already noun US /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.”

Remained noun US /ˈremained/

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

From this reading “So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.”

Tell noun US /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.”

Whilst conjunction US /waɪlst/

an old and formal word for “while”

From this reading “Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.”

All words in this reading · 76

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 He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

AHEAD

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

From this reading BREAKERS AHEAD.

alreadynounUS /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

answer

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

better

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

BREAKERS

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

From this reading BREAKERS AHEAD.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

commission

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

concocted

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

contemplating

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

country

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

crime

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

difficult

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

doing

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

dreaded

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

England

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

excuse

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

eyes

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

felt

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

go

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

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

Godfrey

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

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

habit

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

Harland

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

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

home

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

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

Iris

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

less

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

lie

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

long-suffering

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

looking

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

made

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

most

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

night

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

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

pretending

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

questioning

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

remainednounUS /ˈremained/

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

remorse

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

saw

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

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

SoconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

stick

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

straight

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

subject

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

tellnounUS /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Godfrey Harland did not go home that night.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading So the less he saw of her whilst he remained in England, he thought, the better, and he had already concocted an excuse for pretending to go into the country.

timid

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

unpleasant

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

waited

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

whilstconjunctionUS /waɪlst/

an old and formal word for “while”

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.

wife

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

From this reading He was contemplating the commission of a crime, and he felt little remorse upon the subject, but he dreaded the questioning of his wife as to where he had been and what he had been doing.

woman

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

From this reading Iris was a timid and long-suffering woman, but she had an unpleasant habit of looking one straight in the eyes whilst she waited for an answer, which made it most difficult to tell her a good lie, and stick to it.