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Tommy
Tommy

Chapter XII

Cover illustration for Tommy
Context Illustration Reading 1/29 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.
The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.
The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.
Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.
"Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?
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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.

Tommy

Chapter XII

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

Line 1
It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.
Line 2
The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.
Line 3
The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.
Line 4
Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.
Line 5
"Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

Learner Dictionary

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

Being auxiliary verb US /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading “The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.”

Strangely noun US /ˈstrangely/

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

From this reading “The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.”

All words in this reading · 52

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 Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

all

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

andeterminerUS /æn/

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

awoke

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

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

ay

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

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

bed

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

bells

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

ceased

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

chimed

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

church

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

churches

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

clock

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

congregations

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

dismissed

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

else

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

eyes

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

gasped

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

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

Hall

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

hepronounUS /hiː/

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

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

hour

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

indeed

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

midday

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

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

nearly

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

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

quarter

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

ringing

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

rose

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

rubbed

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

From this reading Tom rose in his bed, and rubbed his eyes.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

silent

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

strangelynounUS /ˈstrangely/

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

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

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

Tom

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

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

Town

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

twelve

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

From this reading The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading It was nearly midday when Tom awoke.

WhereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading "Where am I?" he gasped; "this is--this is--ay, where am I?