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The Reason Why
The Reason Why

Chapter XVIII

Cover illustration for The Reason Why
Context Illustration Reading 1/25 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
He sprang from bed and picked them up.
What could they possibly mean?
They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.
And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.
He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.
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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 Reason Why

Chapter XVIII

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
He sprang from bed and picked them up.
Line 2
What could they possibly mean?
Line 3
They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.
Line 4
And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.
Line 5
He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

Learner Dictionary

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

Against preposition US /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading “He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.”

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.”

Come noun US /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.”

Could modal verb US /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading “What could they possibly mean?”

First noun US /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.”

All words in this reading · 47

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

againstprepositionUS /əˈɡenst/

touching and pressing; in opposition to

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

bed

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

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

carpet

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

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

case

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

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

certainly

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading What could they possibly mean?

Dover

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

dressing-gown

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

evening

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

firstnounUS /first/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

gardenias

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

give

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

gone

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

mean

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

From this reading What could they possibly mean?

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

o'clock

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

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

pale

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

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

picked

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

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

possibly

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

From this reading What could they possibly mean?

remembered

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

roses

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

seen

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

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

six

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

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

sprang

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

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

there

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

From this reading And they certainly had not been there when at six o'clock he had come in.

theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading What could they possibly mean?

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

up

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

From this reading He sprang from bed and picked them up.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading What could they possibly mean?

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

wore

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

From this reading They were her roses, certainly--he remembered she wore the dressing-gown that first evening at Dover, when he had gone to her to give her the gardenias.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading He would in that case have seen them against the pale carpet.