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Miscellanea
Miscellanea

Chapter VII

Cover illustration for Miscellanea
Context Illustration Reading 1/81 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.
"I see nothing," said the Khoja.
"It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."
"You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?
If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"
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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.

Miscellanea

Chapter VII

Reading 1/81 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.
Line 2
"I see nothing," said the Khoja.
Line 3
"It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."
Line 4
"You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?
Line 5
If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

Learner Dictionary

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

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “"It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “"You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “"I see nothing," said the Khoja.”

Replied noun US /replied/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?”

Whether conjunction US /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading “If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"”

All words in this reading · 46

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 "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading "You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

any

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading "You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

candle

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

cat

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

From this reading "You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?

complained

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

dark

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

Don't

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

get

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

gone

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

got

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

guest

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

house

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

how

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "I see nothing," said the Khoja.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

It's

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

Khoja

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

From this reading "I see nothing," said the Khoja.

light's

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

mad

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

From this reading "You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading "You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading "I see nothing," said the Khoja.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

out

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

pitch

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

possibly

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

really

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

repliednounUS /replied/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "You must be mad," replied the Khoja; "am I a cat?

said

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

say

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

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

see

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.

up

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

From this reading "It's pitch dark," complained the guest: "do get up and see if you have a candle in the house."

whetherconjunctionUS /ˈweðər/

used to introduce two or more possibilities

From this reading If it is really as dark as you say how can I possibly see whether I have got any or not?"

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Don't you see that the light's gone out?" said the guest.