Chapter II
He stopped. He turned to nerve himself with whisky. "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?" My uncle looked unspeakable things. Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
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1 / 5
He
stopped.
He
turned
to
nerve
himself
with
whisky.
"Well,"
I
said,
when
the
pause
seemed
sufficient;
"what
did
she
say?"
My
uncle
looked
unspeakable
things.
Then
in
a
whisper,
bending
towards
me:
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) and Two Other
Chapter II
Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Line 1
He
stopped.
/hiː stopped/
Line 2
He
turned
to
nerve
himself
with
whisky.
Line 3
"Well,"
I
said,
when
the
pause
seemed
sufficient;
"what
did
she
say?"
Line 4
My
uncle
looked
unspeakable
things.
Line 5
Then
in
a
whisper,
bending
towards
me:
Learner Dictionary
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.
Himself
pronoun
US /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “He turned to nerve himself with whisky.”
Looked
noun
US /looked/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “My uncle looked unspeakable things.”
Seemed
noun
US /seemed/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “"Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"”
Stopped
noun
US /stopped/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “He stopped.”
Towards
preposition
US /təˈwɔːrdz/
in the direction of
From this reading “Then in a whisper, bending towards me:”
Well
noun
US /well/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “"Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"”
All words in this reading · 32
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 Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
bending
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
HepronounUS /hiː/
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stopped.
himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He turned to nerve himself with whisky.
IpronounUS /aɪ/
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
lookednounUS /looked/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading My uncle looked unspeakable things.
mepronounUS /miː/
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
MydeterminerUS /maɪ/
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My uncle looked unspeakable things.
nerve
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He turned to nerve himself with whisky.
pause
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
said
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
say
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
seemednounUS /seemed/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
shepronounUS /ʃiː/
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
stoppednounUS /stopped/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading He stopped.
sufficient
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
thedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
Then
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
things
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My uncle looked unspeakable things.
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He turned to nerve himself with whisky.
towardsprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrdz/
in the direction of
From this reading Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
turned
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He turned to nerve himself with whisky.
uncle
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My uncle looked unspeakable things.
unspeakable
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My uncle looked unspeakable things.
Well
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
whatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading "Well," I said, when the pause seemed sufficient; "what did she say?"
whisky
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He turned to nerve himself with whisky.
whisper
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then in a whisper, bending towards me:
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading He turned to nerve himself with whisky.