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From the Earth to the Moon, Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and Twenty Minutes
From the Earth to the Moon, Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and Twenty Minutes

Chapter XXXIV

Cover illustration for From the Earth to the Moon, Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and Twenty Minutes
Context Illustration Reading 1/36 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.
The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.
Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?
These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.
They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.
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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.

From the Earth to the Moon, Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and Twenty Minutes

Chapter XXXIV

Reading 1/36 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.
Line 2
The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.
Line 3
Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?
Line 4
These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.
Line 5
They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

Learner Dictionary

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

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.”

Terrible noun US /ˈterrible/

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

From this reading “The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

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

From this reading “These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.”

Thought noun US /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?”

All words in this reading · 51

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 The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

bodies

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

create

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

danger

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

erring

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

escape

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

escaped

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

ether

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

fortunate

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

HEMISPHERE

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

From this reading THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

just

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

less

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

many

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

meteors

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

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

perils

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

projectile

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

rencontre

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

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

sailors

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

sandbanks

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

sea

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

serious

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

SOUTHERN

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

From this reading THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

terriblenounUS /ˈterrible/

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

ThesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

thoughtnounUS /thought/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

travellers

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

From this reading These erring bodies might create serious perils for the travellers.

unforeseen

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

very

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

From this reading The projectile had just escaped a terrible danger, and a very unforeseen one.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading They were to them so many sandbanks upon that sea of ether which, less fortunate than sailors, they could not escape.

WhopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading Who would have thought of such a rencontre with meteors?