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Fickle Fortune
Fickle Fortune

Chapter VI

Cover illustration for Fickle Fortune
Context Illustration Reading 1/28 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
More than two months had elapsed.
Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.
Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.
They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.
In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.
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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.

Fickle Fortune

Chapter VI

Reading 1/28 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
More than two months had elapsed.
Line 2
Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.
Line 3
Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.
Line 4
They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.
Line 5
In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

Learner Dictionary

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

Between preposition US /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading “They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.”

Clung noun US /clung/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.”

Ever noun US /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.”

Neither determiner US /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

From this reading “Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.”

Still noun US /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

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

From this reading “They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.”

All words in this reading · 58

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

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

arrived

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

betweenprepositionUS /bɪˈtwiːn/

in the space, time, or range separating two things

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

Brunneck

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

Capulet

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

children

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

clungnounUS /clung/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

Count

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

Countess

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

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.

eachdeterminerUS /iːtʃ/

every one of two or more people or things, taken separately

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

Edmund

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

elapsed

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

From this reading More than two months had elapsed.

Ettersberg

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

evernounUS /ever/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

expressed

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

frequently

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

game

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading More than two months had elapsed.

houses

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

inch

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

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

latter

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

marriage

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

met

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

Midsummer

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

Montague

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

months

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

From this reading More than two months had elapsed.

More

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

From this reading More than two months had elapsed.

NeitherdeterminerUS /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.

norconjunctionUS /nɔːr/

and not; used after a negative to add a second negative

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

often

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

only

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

opposition

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

other

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

plan

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

playing

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

prohibitions

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

projected

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

Ruestow

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

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.

spite

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

stillnounUS /still/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

tenaciously

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading More than two months had elapsed.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

theirdeterminerUS /ðer/

belonging to the people or things already mentioned

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

thesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

TheypronounUS /ðeɪ/

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

two

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

From this reading More than two months had elapsed.

vigorous

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

From this reading They were vigorous as ever in their opposition to the projected marriage between their children, but these latter only clung the more tenaciously to their plan.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

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

From this reading Midsummer had arrived, but the houses of Ettersberg and Brunneck were still, as Count Edmund expressed it, playing the Montague and Capulet game.

wrote

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

From this reading In spite of prohibitions they met often, and wrote to each other still more frequently.

yielded

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

From this reading Neither the Countess nor Ruestow had yielded an inch.