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The Joss: A Reversion
The Joss: A Reversion

Chapter XII

Cover illustration for The Joss: A Reversion
Context Illustration Reading 1/44 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
We went upstairs to get another candle.
A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.
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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 Joss: A Reversion

Chapter XII

Reading 1/44 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.
Line 2
We went upstairs to get another candle.
Line 3
A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.
Line 4
The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.
Line 5
Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

Learner Dictionary

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

Alone noun US /alone/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.”

Another noun US /ˈanother/

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

From this reading “We went upstairs to get another candle.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.”

Pieces noun US /pieces/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.”

Shelf noun US /ʃelf/

A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.

From this reading “The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “We went upstairs to get another candle.”

All words in this reading · 45

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 SHUTTING OF A DOOR.

alonenounUS /alone/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

anothernounUS /ˈanother/

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

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

brown

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

candle

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

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

climbed

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

contents

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

DOOR

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

From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.

get

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

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

how

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

knew

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

made

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

mantelpiece

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

meal

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.

off

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

paper

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

parlour

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

Pieces

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

From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

pound

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

rats

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

shelfnounUS /ʃelf/

A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

shreds

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

SHUTTING

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

From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.

stout

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE SHUTTING OF A DOOR.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

torn

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

From this reading The rats had climbed up on to the shelf, they alone knew how, torn the paper to shreds, and made a meal off the contents.

up

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.

upstairs

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

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading We went upstairs to get another candle.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

whole

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

From this reading Pieces of candle were left, but not one whole one.

wrapped

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

From this reading A pound had been left on the parlour mantelpiece wrapped up in a stout brown paper.