Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Starbucks
The Starbucks

Chapter XI

Cover illustration for The Starbucks
Context Illustration Reading 1/59 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
READING THE NEWS.
The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.
Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.
Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.
"Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
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 Starbucks

Chapter XI

Reading 1/59 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
READING THE NEWS.
Line 2
The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.
Line 3
Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.
Line 4
Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.
Line 5
"Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

Learner Dictionary

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

Long noun US /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.”

Morning noun US /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.”

Next noun US /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.”

Over preposition US /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading “The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.”

Sometimes noun US /sometimes/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.”

Took noun US /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.”

All words in this reading · 44

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 next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

away

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

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

bending

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

darken

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.

face

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.

far

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

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

fo

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

Jasper

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

knitting

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

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

laboriously

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

light

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.

longnounUS /long/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

man's

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.

morningnounUS /morning/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

NEWS

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

From this reading READING THE NEWS.

nextnounUS /next/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

NotadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

Old

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

read

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

READING

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

From this reading READING THE NEWS.

rocking

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

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

sat

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

Shot

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

slowly

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

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

Sometimes

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.

stobbed

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

story-paper

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

table

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading READING THE NEWS.

then

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.

three

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

From this reading "Shot fo' an' stobbed three," he read.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

tooknounUS /took/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

up

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

From this reading The next morning Old Jasper took up the story-paper and for a long time sat at the table, bending over it, reading laboriously.

wife

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

From this reading Not far away his wife sat, knitting and slowly rocking.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading Sometimes the old man's face would light up and then it would darken.