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

Chapter XV

Cover illustration for Ready About
Context Illustration Reading 1/21 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.
Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.
The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.
The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.
Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.
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.

Ready About

Chapter XV

Reading 1/21 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.
Line 2
Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.
Line 3
The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.
Line 4
The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.
Line 5
Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

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 “Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.”

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.”

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.”

Captain noun US /ˈcaptain/

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

From this reading “Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.”

Cell noun US /sel/

A small stone room in a prison where an inmate is locked behind iron bars.

From this reading “Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.”

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.”

Next noun US /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.”

Spending noun US /ˈspending/

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

From this reading “The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.”

Sure noun US /sure/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.”

UNDER preposition US /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading “UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.”

All words in this reading · 59

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 Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

Angelo

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

beer

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

blackguarding

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

CaptainnounUS /ˈcaptain/

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

cellnounUS /sel/

A small stone room in a prison where an inmate is locked behind iron bars.

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

Club

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

From this reading The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.

committed

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

correct

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

dark

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

day

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

delivered

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

drinking

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

few

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

former

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

friend

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

future

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

ideas

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

lock-up

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

Michael

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

moral

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

morally

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

naught

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

From this reading The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.

Nautifelers

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

From this reading The Nautifelers Club had come to naught.

nextnounUS /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

officer

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

Only

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

From this reading Only the day before, he had been blackguarding his former friend for not drinking beer, and for being correct in his moral ideas.

ORconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.

prison

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

spendingnounUS /ˈspending/

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

Spickles

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

State

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

surenounUS /sure/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

UNDERprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.

very

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

WAY

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

From this reading UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.

WEIGH

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

From this reading UNDER WAY, OR UNDER WEIGH.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading Captain Michael Angelo Spickles was delivered to an officer, who committed him to a cell in the lock-up.

years

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

From this reading The future must have looked very dark to him, for he was morally sure of spending the next few years in the State prison.