Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth
First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth

Chapter XXIV

Cover illustration for First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth
Context Illustration Reading 1/31 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“You don’t count.”
Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.
Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.
Preposterous!
She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.
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.

First the Blade: A Comedy of Growth

Chapter XXIV

Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“You don’t count.”
Line 2
Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.
Line 3
Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.
Line 4
Preposterous!
Line 5
She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

Learner Dictionary

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

Above preposition US /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading “Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.”

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.”

Free adjective US /friː/

acting without enough restraint or discipline

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.”

Itself pronoun US /ˌɪtˈself/

used when the thing doing the action is also its object

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.”

Mind noun US /mind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

Short adjective US /ʃɔrt/

brief or direct in expression

From this reading “Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.”

Since preposition US /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading “Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.”

Till preposition US /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

Underneath preposition US /ˌʌndərˈniːθ/

directly under, often hidden by what is above

From this reading “Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.”

All words in this reading · 67

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 She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

all

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

aware

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

away

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

certain

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

confront

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

contemptuous

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

Coral's

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

corner

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

count

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

From this reading “You don’t count.”

covered

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

day

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

don't

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

From this reading “You don’t count.”

engagement

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

fact

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

fallings

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

freeadjectiveUS /friː/

acting without enough restraint or discipline

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

happiness

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

haunted

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

heaped

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

huddled

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

inadequacies

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

itselfpronounUS /ˌɪtˈself/

used when the thing doing the action is also its object

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

Justin

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

kindly

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

knew

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

laughter

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

Laura

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

living

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

mindnounUS /mind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

naked

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

notion

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

possible

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

Preposterous

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

From this reading Preposterous!

ready

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

scorn

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

shake

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

shortadjectiveUS /ʃɔrt/

brief or direct in expression

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

SinceprepositionUS /sɪns/

from a time in the past until now

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

there

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

trappings

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

underneathprepositionUS /ˌʌndərˈniːθ/

directly under, often hidden by what is above

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

up

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Since the day of her engagement she had been aware, underneath her happiness, of certain inadequacies, fallings short in herself or—was it possible?—in Justin.

word

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

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

words

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

From this reading Coral’s words, her look, her laughter—above all, her kindly, contemptuous laughter—haunted Laura.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading She heaped scorn upon the notion till it was covered up again, and yet she knew it was there, huddled away in a corner of her mind, ready at a word to shake itself free of its trappings, to confront her, a naked living fact.

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “You don’t count.”