Chapter 1 of The White Shield is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Shield is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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.
Chapter 1 of The White Shield is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
plural of “battle” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
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.”
inflected form of “bear” — have
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.”
be in motion due to some air or water current
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.”
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
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.”
an introduction to a play
From this reading “PROLOGUE.”
a protective covering or structure
From this reading “The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.”
plural of “warrior” — someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
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.”
plural of “zulu” — a member of the tall Negroid people of eastern South Africa; some live in KwaZulu-Natal under the traditional clan system but many now work in the cities
From this reading “They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.”
In 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.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
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.
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.
weapons considered collectively
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.
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.
plural of “battle” — a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
inflected form of “bear” — have
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.
the two together, not just one
From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
be in motion due to some air or water current
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.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
United States writer (born in England) who wrote on American culture (1917-1996)
From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
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.
plural of “place” — a point located with respect to surface features of some region
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.
an introduction to a play
From this reading PROLOGUE.
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.
a protective covering or structure
From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
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.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.
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.
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.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
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.
plural of “warrior” — someone engaged in or experienced in warfare
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.
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.
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.
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.
a Caucasian
From this reading The White Shield, by Bertram Mitford.
plural of “zulu” — a member of the tall Negroid people of eastern South Africa; some live in KwaZulu-Natal under the traditional clan system but many now work in the cities
From this reading They were fine, tall, martial-looking Zulus, and both head-ringed.
Chapter 1 of The White Shield by Bertram Mitford holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 423 sentences of The White Shield, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The White Shield by Bertram Mitford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The White Shield by Bertram Mitford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4145 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #32893 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #32893, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 829 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Shield section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The White Shield to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The White Shield, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
