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The Zeppelin's Passenger
The Zeppelin's Passenger

Chapter IV

Cover illustration for The Zeppelin's Passenger
Context Illustration Reading 1/29 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.
The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.
Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.
“We may enquire your name?” she asked.
“I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.
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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 Zeppelin's Passenger

Chapter IV

Reading 1/29 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.
Line 2
The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.
Line 3
Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.
Line 4
“We may enquire your name?” she asked.
Line 5
“I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

Learner Dictionary

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

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““We may enquire your name?” she asked.”

Have auxiliary verb US /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.”

May modal verb US /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading ““We may enquire your name?” she asked.”

Name noun US /name/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading ““We may enquire your name?” she asked.”

Never noun US /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.”

Once noun US /once/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.”

Time noun US /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.”

All words in this reading · 50

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 new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

all

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

Baron

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

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

became

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

changed

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

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

character

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

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

cold

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

conversation

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

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

crept

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

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

emotional

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

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

enquire

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

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.

guiding

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

lurking

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

Maderstrom

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

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

manner

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

maymodal verbUS /meɪ/

used to say something is possible, or to give permission

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.

namenounUS /name/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.

nevernounUS /never/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

new

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

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

once

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

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

Philippa

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

prompt

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

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

reply

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

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

reserved

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.

situation

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

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

spirit

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

tendencies

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

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

tenseness

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

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

threat

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

timenounUS /time/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading A new tenseness seemed to have crept into the situation.

tone

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

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading “I am the Baron Maderstrom,” was the prompt reply.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Philippa, cold and reserved, with a threat lurking all the time in her tone and manner, became its guiding spirit.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading The conversation, never without its emotional tendencies, at once changed its character.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “We may enquire your name?” she asked.