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The Purchase Price
The Purchase Price

Chapter XVI

Cover illustration for The Purchase Price
Context Illustration Reading 1/30 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.
What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.
The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.
Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.
The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.
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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 Purchase Price

Chapter XVI

Reading 1/30 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.
Line 2
What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.
Line 3
The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.
Line 4
Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.
Line 5
The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

Learner Dictionary

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

Appearance noun US /ˈappearance/

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

From this reading “The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.”

Beginning noun US /ˈbeginning/

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

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

Even noun US /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

Silence noun US /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading “Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.”

Soon noun US /soon/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.”

All words in this reading · 65

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 ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

ADJUDICATION

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

appearancenounUS /ˈappearance/

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

assumed

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

bank

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

become

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

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

beginningnounUS /ˈbeginning/

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

collision

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

Combat

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

commonplace

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

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

dismal

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

enough

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

evennounUS /even/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

few

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

finally

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

half-hearted

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

hostile

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

illumination

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

incidents

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

island

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

more

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

night

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

now

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

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

ominous

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

others

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

peace

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

place

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

presented

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

pressed

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

produce

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

recent

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

scant

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

scene

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

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

serious

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

shore

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

sight

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

silencenounUS /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

soon

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

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

taken

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

torches

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

tragedy

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

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

use

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

war

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

From this reading Combat, collision, war had taken the place of recent peace and silence.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What had been a commonplace scene now was become one of tragedy.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading THE ADJUDICATION A dismal sight enough was presented when finally a few half-hearted torches were pressed into use to produce a scant illumination.

willow-covered

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

From this reading The bank of this willow-covered island had assumed the appearance of a hostile shore.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading The night seemed ominous, as though not even these incidents were more than the beginning of others yet more serious soon to come.