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The White Shield
The White Shield

Chapter I

Cover illustration for The White Shield
Context Illustration Reading 1/85 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
________________________________________________________________________ THE WHITE SHIELD, BY BERTRAM MITFORD.
PROLOGUE.
We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.
They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.
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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 White Shield

Chapter I

Reading 1/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
Line 2
________________________________________________________________________ THE WHITE SHIELD, BY BERTRAM MITFORD.
Line 3
PROLOGUE.
Line 4
We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.
Line 5
They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

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 “We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.”

Fine noun US /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.”

All words in this reading · 35

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

arms

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

battles

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

Bertram

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

From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.

borne

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.

Drift

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

finenounUS /fine/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

fought

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

head-ringed

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

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

Kambula

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

martial-looking

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

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

Mitford

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

From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

places

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

PROLOGUE

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

From this reading PROLOGUE.

Rorke's

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

Shield

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

From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.

talking

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

tall

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

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.

two

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

warriors

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

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

From this reading We were talking about Rorke's Drift and of Kambula, in the battles fought at which places these two warriors had borne arms.

White

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

From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.

Zulus

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

From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.