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Tales of Terror and Mystery
Tales of Terror and Mystery

Chapter III

Cover illustration for Tales of Terror and Mystery
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"That is a curious thing," I remarked.
"What is the history of that?"
"Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.
I would give a good deal to know.
Take it in your hands and examine it."
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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.

Tales of Terror and Mystery

Chapter III

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"That is a curious thing," I remarked.
Line 2
"What is the history of that?"
Line 3
"Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.
Line 4
I would give a good deal to know.
Line 5
Take it in your hands and examine it."

Learner Dictionary

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

Good noun US /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I would give a good deal to know.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “Take it in your hands and examine it."”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “"Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “I would give a good deal to know.”

Myself pronoun US /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading “"Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.”

Question noun US /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading “"Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.”

Take noun US /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Take it in your hands and examine it."”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"That is a curious thing," I remarked.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “I would give a good deal to know.”

All words in this reading · 35

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 "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

Ah

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Take it in your hands and examine it."

ask

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

curious

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

From this reading "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

deal

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

From this reading I would give a good deal to know.

examine

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

From this reading Take it in your hands and examine it."

give

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

From this reading I would give a good deal to know.

goodnounUS /good/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I would give a good deal to know.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading Take it in your hands and examine it."

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

history

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

From this reading "What is the history of that?"

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Take it in your hands and examine it."

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading I would give a good deal to know.

myselfpronounUS /ˌmaɪˈself/

used when the speaker is also the object of the action

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

occasion

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "What is the history of that?"

questionnounUS /ˈquestion/

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

remarked

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

From this reading "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

said

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

TakenounUS /take/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Take it in your hands and examine it."

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "What is the history of that?"

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "That is a curious thing," I remarked.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

very

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

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "What is the history of that?"

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading "Ah!" said he, "it is the very question which I have had occasion to ask myself.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading I would give a good deal to know.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Take it in your hands and examine it."