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No Defense, Volume 2.
No Defense, Volume 2.

Chapter II

Cover illustration for No Defense, Volume 2.
Context Illustration Reading 1/23 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
WHITHER NOW?
England was in a state of unrest.
She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.
From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.
Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.
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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.

No Defense, Volume 2.

Chapter II

Reading 1/23 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
WHITHER NOW?
Line 2
England was in a state of unrest.
Line 3
She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.
Line 4
From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.
Line 5
Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

Learner Dictionary

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

Been auxiliary verb US /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading “She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.”

None pronoun US /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading “She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.”

Went noun US /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.”

WHITHER adverb US /ˈwɪðər/

an old word meaning “to where”

From this reading “WHITHER NOW?”

Yet conjunction US /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading “She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.”

All words in this reading · 41

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 England was in a state of unrest.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

bordering

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

came

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

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

castle

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

despair

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

Dials

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

England

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

From this reading England was in a state of unrest.

fell

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

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

France

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

FromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading England was in a state of unrest.

king's

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

Ministries

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

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

nonepronounUS /nʌn/

not one, and not any

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

NOW

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

From this reading WHITHER NOW?

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading England was in a state of unrest.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

poorest

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

rose

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

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

Seven

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

slum

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

state

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

From this reading England was in a state of unrest.

statesmen

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

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

successful

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

temper

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

there

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading From the king's castle to the poorest slum in Seven Dials there was a temper bordering on despair.

too

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

unrest

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

From this reading England was in a state of unrest.

war

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

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading England was in a state of unrest.

wentnounUS /went/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Ministries came and went; statesmen rose and fell.

WHITHERadverbUS /ˈwɪðər/

an old word meaning “to where”

From this reading WHITHER NOW?

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading She had, as yet, been none too successful in the war with France.