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Sisters
Sisters

Chapter VII

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Context Illustration Reading 1/42 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
There was a moon the next night also.
It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.
But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.
Redford was packed with Christmas guests.
The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.
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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.

Sisters

Chapter VII

Reading 1/42 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
There was a moon the next night also.
Line 2
It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.
Line 3
But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.
Line 4
Redford was packed with Christmas guests.
Line 5
The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

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 “The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.”

Fine noun US /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.”

Free adjective US /friː/

acting without enough restraint or discipline

From this reading “It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.”

Help noun US /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.”

Merchant noun US /ˈmɜːr.tʃənt/

A person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially with foreign countries.

From this reading “It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.”

Next noun US /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “There was a moon the next night also.”

Pleasant noun US /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.”

Returned noun US /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading “The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.”

Those determiner US /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading “But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading “The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.”

All words in this reading · 79

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 There was a moon the next night also.

acquaintance

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

affect

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

also

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

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

appreciably

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

arriving

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

baby's

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

batches

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

bit

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

caretaker

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

Carey

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

Christmas

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

From this reading Redford was packed with Christmas guests.

day

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

dirty

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

down

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

evening

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

fairyland

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

finenounUS /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

freeadjectiveUS /friː/

acting without enough restraint or discipline

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

full

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

garden

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

general

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

guests

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

From this reading Redford was packed with Christmas guests.

Guthrie

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

helpnounUS /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

hobnobbing

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

intervals

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

lawns

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

merchantnounUS /ˈmɜːr.tʃənt/

A person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially with foreign countries.

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

moon

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

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

nextnounUS /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

night

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

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

old

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

packed

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

From this reading Redford was packed with Christmas guests.

pleasantnounUS /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

Redford

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

returnednounUS /ˈreturned/

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

sailor's

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

Sandridge

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

shop

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

shutting

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

six

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

spend

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

strayed

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

taken

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

There

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

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

therein

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

train

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

trees

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

turned

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

usual

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

From this reading But it turned Redford garden, with its fine old trees and lawns, into the usual bit of fairyland for those who strayed therein.

waggonette

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

From this reading The waggonette that had taken Guthrie Carey to the train had returned full of them, and batches had been arriving at intervals through the day.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading There was a moon the next night also.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading It did not appreciably affect him this time--down in dirty Sandridge, hobnobbing with the baby's caretaker and the general merchant, who, shutting his shop at six, was free to make the sailor's acquaintance, and help him to spend a pleasant evening.