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Scottish Sketches
Scottish Sketches

Chapter XXXII

Cover illustration for Scottish Sketches
Context Illustration Reading 1/39 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Slowly the weary winter passed away.
And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.
Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.
There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.
No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.
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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.

Scottish Sketches

Chapter XXXII

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

Line 1
Slowly the weary winter passed away.
Line 2
And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.
Line 3
Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.
Line 4
There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.
Line 5
No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.”

Another noun US /ˈanother/

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

From this reading “No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.”

Began noun US /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.”

Continued noun US /ˈcontinued/

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

From this reading “Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.”

Every determiner US /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading “There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.”

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.”

Passed noun US /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Slowly the weary winter passed away.”

All words in this reading · 70

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 Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

acquaintances

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

addresses

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

anothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

ask

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

atmosphere

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

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

avoid

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

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

away

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

From this reading Slowly the weary winter passed away.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

bear

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

begannounUS /began/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

clear

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

continuednounUS /ˈcontinued/

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

distinct

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

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

doing

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

dropped

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

fact

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

given

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

going

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

ill

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

just

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

man

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

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

many

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

Margaret

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

needed

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

noticed

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

old

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

opening

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

passednounUS /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Slowly the weary winter passed away.

people

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

From this reading There is a distinct atmosphere about every man, and the atmosphere about Ragon people began to avoid.

Ragon

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

reason

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

reasoning

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

refuse

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

scorn

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

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

Slowly

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

From this reading Slowly the weary winter passed away.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

spring

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

talk

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Slowly the weary winter passed away.

there

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

Torr's

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

very

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading And just as spring was opening there began to be talk of Ragon Torr's going away.

weary

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

From this reading Slowly the weary winter passed away.

why

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

From this reading No one could have given a very clear reason for doing so; one man did not ask another why; but the fact needed no reasoning about, it was there.

winter

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

From this reading Slowly the weary winter passed away.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Margaret continued to refuse his addresses with a scorn he found it ill to bear; and he noticed that many of his old acquaintances dropped away from him.