Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Moth and Rust
Moth and Rust

Chapter X

Cover illustration for Moth and Rust
Context Illustration Reading 1/52 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."
--WILLIAM WATSON.
It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.
It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.
Yet so it was.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Moth and Rust

Chapter X

Reading 1/52 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."
Line 2
--WILLIAM WATSON.
Line 3
It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.
Line 4
It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.
Line 5
Yet so it was.
/jet soʊ ɪt wɑːz/

Learner Dictionary

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

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."”

Substance noun US /ˈsʌbstəns/

wealth or financial means

From this reading “"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."”

Take noun US /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.”

Thine pronoun US /ðaɪn/

an old word for “yours”

From this reading “"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."”

Thy determiner US /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading “"Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “Yet so it was.”

All words in this reading · 49

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 was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

Anne

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

bent

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

certain

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

dinner

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

From this reading It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.

doubly

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

From this reading It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.

drawing-room

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

evening

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

find

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

following

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

hard

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.

intent

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

ItsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

shouldmodal verbUS /ʃʊd/

used to say what is right, expected, or advisable

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

slight

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading Yet so it was.

soft

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

soul

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

Stephen

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

strong

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

stubborn

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

substancenounUS /ˈsʌbstəns/

wealth or financial means

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

takenounUS /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was doubly hard that he should have to take her in to dinner.

taken

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

there

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

ThinepronounUS /ðaɪn/

an old word for “yours”

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

thydeterminerUS /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

walked

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

WATSON

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

From this reading --WILLIAM WATSON.

weak

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading "Thine were the weak, slight hands That might have taken this strong soul, and bent Its stubborn substance to thy soft intent."

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading It was hard on Stephen that when he walked into a certain drawing-room the following evening he should find Anne there.

WILLIAM

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

From this reading --WILLIAM WATSON.

YetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading Yet so it was.