Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Tante
Tante

Chapter XXXIII

Cover illustration for Tante
Context Illustration Reading 1/73 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.
The two days had told upon them both.
The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.
Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.
The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Tante

Chapter XXXIII

Reading 1/73 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.
Line 2
The two days had told upon them both.
Line 3
The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.
Line 4
Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.
Line 5
The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

Learner Dictionary

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

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.”

Brought noun US /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading “It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:”

Second noun US /second/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.”

Told noun US /told/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The two days had told upon them both.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “The two days had told upon them both.”

While conjunction US /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading “It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.”

All words in this reading · 56

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 The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

austere

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

From this reading Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.

beautiful

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

bleached

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

From this reading Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

broughtnounUS /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

days

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

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

desolate

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

From this reading Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.

face

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

fruit

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

gnawed

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

Gregory

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

From this reading The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

Handcock

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

From this reading The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

heart

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

Jardine

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

From this reading The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

letter

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

From this reading The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

letters

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

like

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

Madame

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

Marwitz

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

Mercedes

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

more

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

From this reading Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

Mrs

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

music-room

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading The one letter that Handcock brought to Mrs. Talcott was from Gregory Jardine:

rain-sodden

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.

sat

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

second

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

Talcott

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

Talcott's

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

From this reading Mrs. Talcott's was more bleached, more desolate, more austere.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

together

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

toldnounUS /told/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

two

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

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading The two days had told upon them both.

von

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

whileconjunctionUS /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading It was on the second morning after this that the letters were brought in to Madame von Marwitz while she and Mrs. Talcott sat in the music-room together.

worm

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

From this reading The face of Mercedes was like a beautiful fruit, rain-sodden and gnawed at the heart by a worm.