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The Serf
The Serf

Chapter III

Cover illustration for The Serf
Context Illustration Reading 1/68 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.
They were attended by a great hunting train.
Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.
The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.
Very little was doing in the castle.
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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 Serf

Chapter III

Reading 1/68 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.
Line 2
They were attended by a great hunting train.
Line 3
Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.
Line 4
The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.
Line 5
Very little was doing in the castle.

Learner Dictionary

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

After preposition US /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading “The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.”

Afternoon noun US /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

Already noun US /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

Decline noun US /dɪˈklaɪn/

a gradual loss of health and strength

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

Great noun US /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They were attended by a great hunting train.”

Last noun US /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.”

Left noun US /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Very little was doing in the castle.”

Save preposition US /seɪv/

except for; apart from

From this reading “Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.”

Seemed noun US /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

Though conjunction US /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

Towards preposition US /təˈwɔːrdz/

in the direction of

From this reading “The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.”

While conjunction US /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading “The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.”

All words in this reading · 73

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 They were attended by a great hunting train.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

afternoonnounUS /ˈafternoon/

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

Alice

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

alreadynounUS /already/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

Anselm

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

any

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

attended

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

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

begun

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

Bourne

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

bower

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

Brian

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

Burgh

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

castle

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

Cerdic

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

completion

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

de

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

declinenounUS /dɪˈklaɪn/

a gradual loss of health and strength

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

design

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

doing

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

From this reading Very little was doing in the castle.

Dom

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

evening

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

few

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

field

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

foreshadow

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

forest

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

Fulke

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

game

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

Geoffroi

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

greatnounUS /great/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

hot

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

hunting

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

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

Hyla

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

importance

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

la

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

Lady

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

lastnounUS /last/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

leftnounUS /left/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

Lewin

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Very little was doing in the castle.

Lord

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

night

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

out

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

peace

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

people

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

quiet

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

sat

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

saveprepositionUS /seɪv/

except for; apart from

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

seemednounUS /seemed/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

set

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

squire

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

sun

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

thoughconjunctionUS /ðoʊ/

in spite of the fact that

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

towardsprepositionUS /təˈwɔːrdz/

in the direction of

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

train

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

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

ultimate

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

Very

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

From this reading Very few people of any importance were left in the castle, save Lewin and Dom Anselm.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading Very little was doing in the castle.

weaving

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

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading They were attended by a great hunting train.

western

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

From this reading The sun, though still very hot, had begun to decline towards his western bower, and the quiet of the afternoon already seemed to foreshadow the ultimate peace of evening.

WhileconjunctionUS /waɪl/

during the time that

From this reading The last night of Geoffroi de la Bourne While Cerdic and Hyla sat in the field weaving their design to completion, Lord Geoffroi, Lord Fulke, Lady Alice, and Brian de Burgh, the squire, set out after forest game.