Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Ovington's Bank
Ovington's Bank

Chapter XIV

Cover illustration for Ovington's Bank
Context Illustration Reading 1/39 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Squire was late.
A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.
It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.
The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.
Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.
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.

Ovington's Bank

Chapter XIV

Reading 1/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The Squire was late.
Line 2
A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.
Line 3
It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.
Line 4
The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.
Line 5
Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

Learner Dictionary

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

Behind preposition US /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading “Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.”

Distant adjective US /ˈdɪstənt/

not friendly or close

From this reading “It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.”

Divided noun US /ˈdivided/

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

From this reading “It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.”

Every determiner US /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading “Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.”

Journey noun US /ˈjourney/

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

From this reading “Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.”

Scarce adjective US /skɛrs/

hard to find or in short supply

From this reading “Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.”

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 A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

ago

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

apprehensions

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

bridges

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

closed

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

countryside

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

dark

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

distantadjectiveUS /ˈdɪstənt/

not friendly or close

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

dividednounUS /ˈdivided/

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

EverydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

fell

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

field

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

flood

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

fords

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

graver

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

greater

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

hamlets

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

haunted

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

horses

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

hours

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

houses

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

hundred

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

journeynounUS /ˈjourney/

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

late

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

From this reading The Squire was late.

less

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

longer

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

made

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

miry

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

more

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

night

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

peopled

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

plenty

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

risks

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

From this reading It closed in on a countryside less peopled, on houses and hamlets more distant, and divided by greater risks of flood and field.

roads

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

rough

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

scarceadjectiveUS /skɛrs/

hard to find or in short supply

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

seriously

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.

Squire

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

From this reading The Squire was late.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Squire was late.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Every journey had to be made on horses or behind them, roads were rough and miry, fords were plenty, bridges scarce.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The Squire was late.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The dark hours were longer and haunted by graver apprehensions.

years

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

From this reading A hundred years ago night fell more seriously.