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Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
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Idols
Idols

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for Idols
Context Illustration Reading 1/53 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.
To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.
In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.
Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.
One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.
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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.

Idols

Chapter XI

Reading 1/53 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.
Line 2
To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.
Line 3
In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.
Line 4
Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.
Line 5
One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

Learner Dictionary

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

Fortune noun US /ˈfortune/

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

From this reading “Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.”

Hand noun US /hand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.”

All words in this reading · 56

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 From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

abyss

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

begin

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

blackmailing

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

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

briefs

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

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

case

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

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

Central

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

chained

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

complications

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

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

Court

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

Criminal

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

desperate

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

dizzy

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

down

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

edge

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

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

February

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

fortunenounUS /ˈfortune/

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

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

FromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

given

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

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

GoodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

hand

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

hoverings

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

Hugh

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

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

intricate

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

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

keep

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

made

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

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

medical

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

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

moment

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

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

more

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

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading One, a blackmailing case, made intricate by medical complications.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

share

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

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

sittings

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

thoughts

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

ToparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

usual

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

From this reading Good fortune had given him more than his usual share of briefs.

volcano

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

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

walked

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

From this reading From that moment Hugh walked on the edge of a volcano.

week's

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

work

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

From this reading To keep his thoughts from dizzy hoverings over the abyss, he chained them down, with desperate will, to the work he had on hand.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading In a week’s time would begin the February sittings of the Central Criminal Court.