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

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for Regiment of Women
Context Illustration Reading 1/19 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.
The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.
The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.
Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.
Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.
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.

Regiment of Women

Chapter IX

Reading 1/19 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.
Line 2
The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.
Line 3
The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.
Line 4
Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.
Line 5
Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.

Learner Dictionary

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

Wind noun US /wind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.”

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 sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

awaited

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

From this reading Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.

bare

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

barred

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

broke

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

brown

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

chirp

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

dark

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

dusk

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

From this reading The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.

garden

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

gathering

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

From this reading The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.

hide

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

imminent

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

From this reading Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

like

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

Louise

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

naked

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

NotadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

nursery

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

out

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

sky

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

smooth

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

snow

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

From this reading Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.

sparrow's

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

Spellbound

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

From this reading Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.

staring

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

stillness

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

stirred

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

swallowed

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

From this reading The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

thick

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

tiger's

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

trees

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.

twig

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

From this reading Not a twig stirred, not a sparrow's chirp broke the thick stillness.

up

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

From this reading The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

windnounUS /wind/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The gathering dusk had swallowed up the wind.

window

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

From this reading Louise was at the nursery window, staring out into the brown, bare garden.

world

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

From this reading Spellbound, the world awaited the imminent snow.

yellow

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

From this reading The sky was smooth and a dark yellow, the naked trees barred it like a tiger's hide.