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The First
The First

Chapter I

Cover illustration for The First
Context Illustration Reading 1/87 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."
That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.
It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.
It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.
It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.
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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 First

Chapter I

Reading 1/87 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."
Line 2
That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.
Line 3
It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.
Line 4
It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.
Line 5
It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

Learner Dictionary

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

Enchanted adjective US /ɪnˈtʃæn.tɪd/

Filled with or placed under the influence of magical power or charm.

From this reading “That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.”

Need noun US /need/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “_"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading “It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.”

All words in this reading · 49

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's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

behold

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

blaring

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

box

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

chants

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

children

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

city

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

colossal

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

description

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

down

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

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

eager-eyed

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

earth

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

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

enchantedadjectiveUS /ɪnˈtʃæn.tɪd/

Filled with or placed under the influence of magical power or charm.

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

forth

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

guide

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

infinity

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

inspiring

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

magic

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

Man

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

music

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

neednounUS /need/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

new

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

nursery

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

poured

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

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

quotation

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

rainbow

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

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

signposts

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

sky

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

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

sparkling

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

story

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

swarmed

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

That's

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

thousand

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

torn

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

From this reading It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth.

toy

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

victory

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

From this reading It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading That's a quotation from--and a description of--this inspiring story_ The city was enchanted.

way

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

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading _"Man will need signposts to guide the way to infinity."