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Nightmare Planet
Nightmare Planet

Chapter II

Cover illustration for Nightmare Planet
Context Illustration Reading 1/87 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.
But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.
Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.
Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.
The men looked at him supplicatingly.
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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.

Nightmare Planet

Chapter II

Reading 1/87 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.
Line 2
But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.
Line 3
Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.
Line 4
Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.
Line 5
The men looked at him supplicatingly.

Learner Dictionary

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

Again noun US /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.”

Drew noun US /drew/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.”

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The men looked at him supplicatingly.”

Scent noun US /sɛnt/

A distinctive smell or aroma.

From this reading “Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.”

Sometimes noun US /sometimes/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.”

All words in this reading · 39

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 But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

againnounUS /again/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

attention

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

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

Burl

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

closed

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

From this reading Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

draw

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

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

drewnounUS /drew/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

furiously

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading The men looked at him supplicatingly.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

humans

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

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

hunt

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

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

idea

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

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

line

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

From this reading Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The men looked at him supplicatingly.

men

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

From this reading The men looked at him supplicatingly.

mouth

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.

opened

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

scentnounUS /sɛnt/

A distinctive smell or aroma.

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

shout

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

sometimes

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

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

sound

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

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

Spiders

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

From this reading Spiders did not hunt by scent, but sound sometimes drew them.

straight

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

From this reading Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.

supplicatingly

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

From this reading The men looked at him supplicatingly.

taut

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

From this reading Burl closed his mouth again, in a taut straight line.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The men looked at him supplicatingly.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Burl opened his mouth to shout furiously at them.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading But it was not a good idea for humans to draw attention.