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The beating heart
The beating heart

Chapter III

Cover illustration for The beating heart
Context Illustration Reading 1/24 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.
Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.
He learnt greedily.
He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.
To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.
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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.

The beating heart

Chapter III

Reading 1/24 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.
Line 2
Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.
Line 3
He learnt greedily.
Line 4
He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.
Line 5
To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.”

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Along preposition US /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.”

Brought noun US /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Every determiner US /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading “Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.”

Everything pronoun US /ˈevriθɪŋ/

all things; all of a situation

From this reading “He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.”

Suddenly noun US /ˈsuddenly/

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

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Terrible noun US /ˈterrible/

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

From this reading “He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.”

Thing noun US /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading “Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.”

All words in this reading · 73

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 To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

all

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

any

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

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

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

bearing

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

broughtnounUS /ˈbrought/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

burden

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

committed

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

Day

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

EverydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

everythingpronounUS /ˈevriθɪŋ/

all things; all of a situation

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

felt

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

fight

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

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

fighting

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

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

further

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

greedily

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

From this reading He learnt greedily.

grief

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

horror

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

hour

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

Jenkins

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

learn

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

learning

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

learnt

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

From this reading He learnt greedily.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

mist

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

necessary

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

pain

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

painful

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

remedy

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

road

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

saw

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

slowly

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

successfully

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

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

suddenlynounUS /ˈsuddenly/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

surrounded

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

terriblenounUS /ˈterrible/

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

thingnounUS /thing/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading Every hour he saw further into and through the mist of horror that surrounded him.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

toiled

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

vitally

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

way

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading Day after day went slowly by and Jenkins toiled along the painful road of life into which he had been so suddenly brought, bearing his burden of grief and pain and learning, learning all the time.

wished

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

wrong

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

From this reading He felt it was vitally necessary to learn everything about this terrible wrong that he saw being committed, if he wished in any way to remedy it.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading To fight a thing successfully you must know what it is: you must know what you are fighting.