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Talents, Incorporated
Talents, Incorporated

Chapter XIII

Cover illustration for Talents, Incorporated
Context Illustration Reading 1/114 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Bors got nowhere, of course.
His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.
He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.
It could be done in days.
Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.
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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.

Talents, Incorporated

Chapter XIII

Reading 1/114 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Bors got nowhere, of course.
Line 2
His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.
Line 3
He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.
Line 4
It could be done in days.
Line 5
Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

Learner Dictionary

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

Already noun US /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

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

From this reading “It could be done in days.”

Course noun US /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Bors got nowhere, of course.”

Done noun US /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It could be done in days.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.”

All words in this reading · 42

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

all

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

alreadynounUS /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading It could be done in days.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

Bors

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

From this reading Bors got nowhere, of course.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

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

From this reading It could be done in days.

coursenounUS /course/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Bors got nowhere, of course.

days

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

From this reading It could be done in days.

distributed

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

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

donenounUS /done/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It could be done in days.

ear-marks

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

equip

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

fields

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

fleet

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

got

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

From this reading Bors got nowhere, of course.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

HepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

HisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It could be done in days.

Instructions

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

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It could be done in days.

low-power

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

lunacy

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

nowhere

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

From this reading Bors got nowhere, of course.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Bors got nowhere, of course.

overdrive

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

proposal

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

proposed

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

purest

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

ray

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

serene

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

ships

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

studied

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

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading His proposal had all the ear-marks of lunacy of purest ray serene.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

understood

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

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

urgently

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

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading He proposed urgently to equip all the ships of the fleet with the low-power overdrive fields.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading Instructions were already distributed and would have been studied and understood.