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adeterminerUS /ə/
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
all
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From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
andeterminerUS /æn/
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
andconjunctionUS /ənd/
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
answer
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
back
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From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
belowprepositionUS /bɪˈloʊ/
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
call
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
calling
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From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
came
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
ceased
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From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
clang
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From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
covered
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From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
curve
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
darkness
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
dawn
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From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
echoes
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
everythingpronounUS /ˈevriθɪŋ/
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
ExceptprepositionUS /ɪkˈsept/
apart from; not including
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
falling
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From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
Hafiz
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From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
Hastauxiliary verbUS /hæst/
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
heard
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From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
hidden
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
high-pitched
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From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
hill
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
inprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
itpronounUS /ɪt/
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
Khan
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
La-la-la
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
mountaineer
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
night
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
Oh
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
rain
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
ravines
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
repliednounUS /replied/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
round
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From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
seen
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
Shahbaz
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
shutter
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
soft
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
sound
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
stillnounUS /still/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
ThedeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
thick
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
thoupronounUS /ðaʊ/
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Shahbaz Khan replied in the high-pitched voice of the mountaineer: “Hast thou seen?”
thrown
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
thundernounUS /ˈthunder/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
tooknounUS /took/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
Ullah
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
up
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
voice
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
watch-tower
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
watcher
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They heard the shutter of the watch-tower below them thrown back with a clang, and the voice of the watcher calling, “Oh, Hafiz Ullah!”
water
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Except for the sound of falling water among the ravines below, everything was still.
WhatpronounUS /wʌt/
used to ask for information about something
From this reading The echoes took up the call, “La-la-la!” and an answer came from the watch-tower hidden round the curve of the hill, “What is it, Shahbaz Khan?”
winter
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading The thunder ceased, and with it the rain, and the soft thick darkness of a winter night before the dawn covered them all.
