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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 In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
All
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
atprepositionUS /æt/
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/
the past participle of “be”
From this reading “But couldn’t those shots have been fired on land?”
Block
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
borne
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
breath
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
breathing
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
breeze
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But couldn’t those shots have been fired on land?”
canmodal verbUS /kæn/
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
CaptainnounUS /ˈcaptain/
a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage
From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
coast
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From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
comenounUS /come/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
couldn't
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From this reading “But couldn’t those shots have been fired on land?”
distance
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
excitement
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
eyes
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
faint
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
falls
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
few
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
fired
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From this reading “But couldn’t those shots have been fired on land?”
FLAG
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
Gould
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From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “But couldn’t those shots have been fired on land?”
hearts
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
horizon
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
InprepositionUS /ɪn/
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
intently
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
It's
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From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
John
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
land
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From this reading “But couldn’t those shots have been fired on land?”
lengthnounUS /leŋθ/
a period of time or extent
From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
lights
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
listening
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
more
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
motionless
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
night
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
northern
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
off
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From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
ONprepositionUS /ɑːn/
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
only
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
out
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
passing
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From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
PEAK
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
perhaps
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
rang
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
repliednounUS /replied/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
reports
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From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
said
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From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
scarcely
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
see
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
shipnounUS /ship/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading “It’s a ship passing off the coast!” said Captain Gould at length.
shots
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
sound
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From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
stoodnounUS /stood/
an important story-specific word used in this passage
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
tense
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
theirdeterminerUS /ðer/
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
thempronounUS /ðem/
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
toparticleUS /tuː/
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In the distance a few more shots rang out, the sound borne to them on the faint breath of the breeze.
towardsprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrdz/
in the direction of
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
turned
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From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
wepronounUS /wiː/
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
whenconjunctionUS /wen/
at the time that
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”
withprepositionUS /wɪð/
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE FLAG ON THE PEAK All stood motionless, their hearts tense with excitement, their eyes turned towards the northern horizon, listening intently, scarcely breathing.
Yes
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes; those reports can only come from a ship,” John Block replied; “when night falls, perhaps we shall see her lights.”