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The Second String
The Second String

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for The Second String
Context Illustration Reading 1/80 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."
"Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.
"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"
"Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.
Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.
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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 Second String

Chapter IX

Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."
Line 2
"Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.
Line 3
"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"
Line 4
"Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.
Line 5
Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

Learner Dictionary

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

Before preposition US /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading “"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"”

Growled noun US /ˈgrowled/

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

From this reading “"Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.”

Having auxiliary verb US /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading “"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"”

Know noun US /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “"Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.”

Precious adjective US /ˈpreʃəs/

rare and worth a great deal

From this reading “"Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.”

Replied noun US /replied/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.”

Tell noun US /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."”

Yours pronoun US /jʊrz/

the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to

From this reading “"Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.”

Yourselves pronoun US /jʊrˈselvz/

used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action

From this reading “"Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.”

All words in this reading · 56

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 "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

Abe

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

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.

all

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

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

always

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

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

clever

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

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.

Didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

doubt

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

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

gain

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

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

growlednounUS /ˈgrowled/

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

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.

havingauxiliary verbUS /ˈhævɪŋ/

the -ing form of “have”

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

horses

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

information

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

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

Jack

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

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

knownounUS /know/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

laughed

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

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

matter

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

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

Moss

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

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

Oh

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

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

OurdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

PreciousadjectiveUS /ˈpreʃəs/

rare and worth a great deal

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.

repliednounUS /replied/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

said

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

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

tellnounUS /tell/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

Then

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

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

try

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

wait

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

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

yes

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

From this reading Abe Moss laughed as he said-- "Oh, yes, we all know that.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Then you can wait for that time," said Jack, "for you will gain no information from me."

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Did he tell you before he left that I was to be 'in the know' when your horses were having a try?"

yourspronounUS /jʊrz/

the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to

From this reading "Our horses always try, no matter what yours may do," replied Jack.

yourselvespronounUS /jʊrˈselvz/

used when the people spoken to are both doing and receiving the action

From this reading "Precious clever you think yourselves, no doubt," growled Abe.