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McGonigal's Worm
McGonigal's Worm

Chapter I

Cover illustration for McGonigal's Worm
Context Illustration Reading 1/49 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_It had happened--no question of it.
Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.
Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.
How could he have known of it so soon?
Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.
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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.

McGonigal's Worm

Chapter I

Reading 1/49 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_It had happened--no question of it.
Line 2
Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.
Line 3
Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.
Line 4
How could he have known of it so soon?
Line 5
Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

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 “Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.”

Even noun US /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “How could he have known of it so soon?”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.”

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.”

Nobody pronoun US /ˈnoʊbɑːdiː/

no person; not anyone

From this reading “Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.”

Question noun US /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading “_It had happened--no question of it.”

Soon noun US /soon/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “How could he have known of it so soon?”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.”

Suddenly noun US /ˈsuddenly/

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

From this reading “Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.”

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 Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

affected

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

all

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

chordata

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

cut

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

death

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

Earth

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

exception

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

far

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading _It had happened--no question of it.

happened

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

From this reading _It had happened--no question of it.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading How could he have known of it so soon?

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading How could he have known of it so soon?

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

how

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading _It had happened--no question of it.

knew

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

known

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

From this reading How could he have known of it so soon?

lifeline

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

made

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

Man

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

moment

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading _It had happened--no question of it.

nobodypronounUS /ˈnoʊbɑːdiː/

no person; not anyone

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

noted

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

Now

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading _It had happened--no question of it.

off

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

possible

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

Prince

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

questionnounUS /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading _It had happened--no question of it.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading How could he have known of it so soon?

soon

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

From this reading How could he have known of it so soon?

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

suddenlynounUS /ˈsuddenly/

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

ThoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

unhappen

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

unnoticed

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

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ When it happened, it happened unnoticed.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Though it affected all chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline and death would still be far off.