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Last Call for Doomsday!
Last Call for Doomsday!

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for Last Call for Doomsday!
Context Illustration Reading 1/15 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.
Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.
Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.
Now it was real at last.
Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.
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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.

Last Call for Doomsday!

Chapter IX

Reading 1/15 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.
Line 2
Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.
Line 3
Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.
Line 4
Now it was real at last.
Line 5
Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

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 “Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.”

Last noun US /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Now it was real at last.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.”

Once noun US /once/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.”

Toward preposition US /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading “Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.”

Track noun US /træk/

a route or signs showing the way someone went

From this reading “Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.”

All words in this reading · 54

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 Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

abstract

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

From this reading Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

astronomical

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Now it was real at last.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

big

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

bigger

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

calculation

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

fast

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

fatal

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

figure

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

grown

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

hung

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

Kendrick's

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

lastnounUS /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Now it was real at last.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

mere

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

moon

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

New

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

Now

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

From this reading Now it was real at last.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

Once

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.

OverprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

photo

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

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

real

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

From this reading Now it was real at last.

red

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

rendezvous

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

rushing

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

sister

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

sky

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

spark

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

speck

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

terrifying

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

there

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.

threat

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

From this reading Once it had been a threat, but an abstract one.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

towardprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrd/

in the direction of

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

tracknounUS /træk/

a route or signs showing the way someone went

From this reading Once it had been a mere track, on an astronomical photo, a figure in a calculation.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Now it was real at last.

Week

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

World

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

From this reading Week by week, it had grown from a spark to a speck to a little moon, and now Kendrick's World was rushing in fast toward the fatal rendezvous with its bigger, sister world.

York

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

From this reading Over New York there hung in the sky a new moon, big and red and terrifying.