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The Commission in Lunacy
The Commission in Lunacy

Chapter V

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Context Illustration Reading 1/28 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”
“Yes, monsieur; but in vain.
It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”
“The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.
“Fifteen,” said the Marquise eagerly.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Commission in Lunacy

Chapter V

Reading 1/28 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”
Line 2
“Yes, monsieur; but in vain.
Line 3
It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”
Line 4
“The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.
Line 5
“Fifteen,” said the Marquise eagerly.

Learner Dictionary

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

Ever noun US /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?””

Every determiner US /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading “It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.””

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading ““Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?””

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading ““The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.”

Obtain verb US /əbˈteɪn/

to get something, especially through effort

From this reading ““Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?””

All words in this reading · 48

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 It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

affection

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

applied

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading “Yes, monsieur; but in vain.

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

care

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

children

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

clings

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

deprived

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

eagerly

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

From this reading “Fifteen,” said the Marquise eagerly.

elder

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

From this reading “The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.

evernounUS /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

Fifteen

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

From this reading “Fifteen,” said the Marquise eagerly.

give

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

happiness

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

hard

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

Haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

himpronounUS /hɪm/

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading “Yes, monsieur; but in vain.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

madame

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

Marquise

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

From this reading “Fifteen,” said the Marquise eagerly.

monsieur

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

From this reading “Yes, monsieur; but in vain.

mother

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.

obtainverbUS /əbˈteɪn/

to get something, especially through effort

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

particularly

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

Popinot

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

From this reading “The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.

said

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

From this reading “The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.

sixteen

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

From this reading “The elder must be sixteen,” said Popinot.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

vain

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

From this reading “Yes, monsieur; but in vain.

very

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

woman

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

From this reading It is very hard on a mother to be deprived of the affection of her children, particularly when they can give her such happiness as every woman clings to.”

Yes

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

From this reading “Yes, monsieur; but in vain.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Have you ever applied to him, madame, to obtain the care of your children?”