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Black Is White
Black Is White

Chapter X

Cover illustration for Black Is White
Context Illustration Reading 1/47 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
A fortnight passed.
Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.
They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.
They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.
There were no rehearsals.
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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.

Black Is White

Chapter X

Reading 1/47 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
A fortnight passed.
Line 2
Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.
Line 3
They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.
Line 4
They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.
Line 5
There were no rehearsals.

Learner Dictionary

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

About preposition US /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading “They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.”

Hand noun US /hand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.”

Passed noun US /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “A fortnight passed.”

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 A fortnight passed.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

any

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

applauded

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

chess-board

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

destiny

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

disciple

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

effectiveness

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

figures

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

fortnight

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

From this reading A fortnight passed.

game

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

hand

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

held

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

instinct

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

like

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

moved

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

nodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading There were no rehearsals.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

own

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

passednounUS /passed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading A fortnight passed.

persons

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

philosopher's

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

pictures

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

puppets

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

ranged

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

rehearsals

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

From this reading There were no rehearsals.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

skilled

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

stage

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

sureness

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

swift-changing

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

From this reading They were puppets; she ranged them about her stage in swift-changing pictures, and applauded her own effectiveness.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

There

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

From this reading There were no rehearsals.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

three

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.

unerring

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading They were like figures on a chess-board, and she moved them with the sureness, the unerring instinct of any skilled disciple of the philosopher's game.

Yvonne

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

From this reading Yvonne held the destiny of three persons in her hand.