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Barbarians
Barbarians

Chapter V

Cover illustration for Barbarians
Context Illustration Reading 1/43 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.
"Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.
"Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.
"Drop your rifles.
Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Barbarians

Chapter V

Reading 1/43 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.
Line 2
"Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.
Line 3
"Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.
Line 4
"Drop your rifles.
Line 5
Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.

Learner Dictionary

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

Added noun US /added/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.”

Along preposition US /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading “PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.”

Among preposition US /əˈmʌŋ/

surrounded by; in the middle of a group

From this reading “PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.”

Gentlemen noun US /gentlemen/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.”

Pleasant noun US /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.”

Repeated noun US /repeated/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.”

Sharply noun US /ˈsharply/

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

From this reading “Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.”

Stand noun US /stand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “"Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.”

All words in this reading · 38

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 "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

addednounUS /added/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.

alongprepositionUS /əˈlɔːŋ/

following the length of something from one end toward the other

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

alpine

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

amongprepositionUS /əˈmʌŋ/

surrounded by; in the middle of a group

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

Brown

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

cross-legged

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

Drop

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

From this reading "Drop your rifles.

em

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

From this reading Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.

gentlemennounUS /gentlemen/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.

German

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

From this reading "Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.

Halt

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

inflection

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

level

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

more

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

From this reading Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.

PARNASSUS

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

pleasantnounUS /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

quick

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

From this reading Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.

quiet

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

repeatednounUS /repeated/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.

rifle

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

rifles

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

From this reading "Drop your rifles.

rising

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

roses

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

said

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

sharplynounUS /ˈsharply/

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

From this reading Drop ’em quick!" he repeated more sharply.

squatting

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

squinted

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

Stand

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

From this reading "Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading "Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading PARNASSUS Brown, squatting cross-legged among the alpine roses, squinted along his level rifle.

very

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

From this reading "Stand very still, gentlemen," he added in German.

voice

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

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading "Halt!" he said with a pleasant, rising inflection in his quiet voice.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Drop your rifles.