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The Evil Shepherd
The Evil Shepherd

Chapter XIX

Cover illustration for The Evil Shepherd
Context Illustration Reading 1/39 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.
“Any news?”
Francis enquired.
“Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.
Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.
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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 Evil Shepherd

Chapter XIX

Reading 1/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.
Line 2
“Any news?”
Line 3
Francis enquired.
Line 4
“Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.
Line 5
Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

Learner Dictionary

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

Found noun US /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.”

Himself pronoun US /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading “Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.”

Nothing pronoun US /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading ““Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.”

All words in this reading · 43

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 Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

admission

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

Any

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

From this reading “Any news?”

arrival

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

awaiting

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

chambers

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

cigarette

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

definite

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

direct

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

drove

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

easy-chair

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

enquired

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

From this reading Francis enquired.

foundnounUS /found/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

Francis

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

friend

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

Grosvenor

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

hat

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

hung

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

lit

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

news

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

From this reading “Any news?”

NothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

other's

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

reluctant

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

say

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

Scotland

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

Shopland

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

sorry

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

Square

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

Temple

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

threw

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.

up

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

From this reading Francis hung up his hat, threw himself into his easy-chair and lit a cigarette.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading “Nothing definite, I am sorry, to say,” was the other's reluctant admission.

Yard

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

From this reading Francis drove direct from Grosvenor Square to his chambers in the Temple, and found Shopland, his friend from Scotland Yard, awaiting his arrival.