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The professor's experiment — Vol. 1
The professor's experiment — Vol. 1

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for The professor's experiment — Vol. 1
Context Illustration Reading 1/20 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’
‘This moment’ has come.
As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.
A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.
Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.
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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 professor's experiment — Vol. 1

Chapter XI

Reading 1/20 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’
Line 2
‘This moment’ has come.
Line 3
As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.
Line 4
A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.
Line 5
Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

Learner Dictionary

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

Behind preposition US /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading “Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.”

Beneath preposition US /bɪˈniːθ/

Directly under; in or to a lower position than.

From this reading “‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’”

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘This moment’ has come.”

Has auxiliary verb US /hæz/

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

From this reading “‘This moment’ has come.”

Look noun US /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’”

Merry noun US /merry/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.”

Someone pronoun US /ˈsʌmwʌn/

a person, without saying who

From this reading “As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.”

Stand noun US /stand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.”

All words in this reading · 69

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 A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

amused

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

AsconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

bastion

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

beneathprepositionUS /bɪˈniːθ/

Directly under; in or to a lower position than.

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

brightens

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

ceases

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ‘This moment’ has come.

comes

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

corner

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

cottage

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

Denis

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

disappears

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

else

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

face

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

girl

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

gray

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

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

From this reading ‘This moment’ has come.

hastily

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

heart

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

heavy

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

InprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

Just

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

known

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

lime-tree

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

looknounUS /look/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

looks

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

Maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

means

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

merrily

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

merry

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

moment

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

From this reading ‘This moment’ has come.

month

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

Mrs

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

much

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

MydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

old

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

OnprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

other

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

pretty

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

reaches

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

round

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

routed

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

sad

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

sadness

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

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

singing

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

someonepronounUS /ˈsʌmwʌn/

a person, without saying who

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

stand

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

subdued

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

sweetly

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Just as she reaches her corner she looks behind her; her singing ceases, and an amused look brightens her face—a face that has known much sadness.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading ‘My heart is sad and heavy, In this merry month of May, As I stand beneath the lime-tree On the bastion old and gray.’

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

vanquished

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

From this reading As Mrs. Denis, routed, but by no means vanquished, disappears hastily round one corner of the pretty cottage, someone else comes round the other.

voice

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.

young

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

From this reading A young girl, singing sweetly, merrily, though in a subdued voice.