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When I Was Czar
When I Was Czar

Chapter X · Vastic

Cover illustration for When I Was Czar
Context Illustration Reading 1/30 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.
The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.
But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.
If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.
There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.
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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.

When I Was Czar

Chapter X · Vastic

Reading 1/30 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.
Line 2
The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.
Line 3
But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.
Line 4
If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.
Line 5
There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

Learner Dictionary

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

Anything pronoun US /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Help noun US /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading “But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.”

Last noun US /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Make noun US /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Might modal verb US /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading “There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.”

Think noun US /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.”

Those determiner US /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Through noun US /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading “It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.”

Told noun US /told/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Without preposition US /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading “If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.”

Would modal verb US /wʊd/

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

From this reading “The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.”

All words in this reading · 88

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 It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

able

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

afterwards

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

anythingpronounUS /ˈeniθɪŋ/

any thing at all

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

chance

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

character

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

cigar

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

cup

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

desired

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

difficult

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

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

doing

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

door

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

dusk

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

Emperor

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

ended

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

extremely

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

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

false

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

filled

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

gardens

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

get

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

give

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

giving

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

Helga

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

helpnounUS /help/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

IfconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

instantly

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

interview

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

lastnounUS /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

lighting

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

made

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

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

makenounUS /make/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

mightmodal verbUS /maɪt/

used to say something is possible but not certain

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

out

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

overflowing

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

papers

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

place

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

plan

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

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

pledge

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

possibility

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

real

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

shut

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

some

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

sorrowful

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

stepped

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

story

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

sympathy

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading But she herself made that help extremely difficult to plan.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

There

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

thinknounUS /think/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

thosedeterminerUS /ðoʊz/

the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

thus

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

toldnounUS /told/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

tragic

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

unutterably

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

use

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

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

vowed

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

way

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading There was the possibility that if I were to give her some such pledge I might afterwards be able to get her the interview with the real Emperor that she desired.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

window

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

From this reading It was dusk when our interview ended, and lighting a cigar I stepped out through the window into the gardens to think.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.

withoutprepositionUS /wɪˈθaʊt/

not having, not using, or not accompanied by

From this reading If I left the place without giving her some pledge in my false character as Emperor, she would instantly make use of those papers, and thus shut the last door upon the chance of his doing anything.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

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

From this reading The tragic and unutterably sorrowful story which Helga had told me had filled the cup of my sympathy with her to overflowing, and help her I vowed I would in some way.