The Woman in White

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learn english through story Woman in white
The woman in white first appears at night on a lonely heath near London and is next seen at a grave-side in Cumberland. Who is she? Where has she come from, and what is her history?

She seems alone and friendless, frightened and confused. And it seems she knows a secret – a secret that could bring ruin and shame to a man who will do anything to keep her silent.

 

Glossary
  1. asylum a hospital where people who are mentally ill can be cared for
  2. bail an amount of money that someone agrees to pay if a person accused of a crime does not appear for trial
  3. Baronet a nobleman who has the title ‘Sir’ and can pass the title on to his son when he dies
  4. bless (v) to ask God to protect somebody
  5. cab (here) a horse and carriage available for public hire
  6. capital a large amount of money that is owned by someone
  7. cloak a loose kind of coat that fastens at the neck and has no sleeves
  8. Count the title of a nobleman in some European countries
  9. Countess the title of the wife of a count
  10. feature a part of someone’s face, such as the nose, eyes, etc.
  11. footprint a mark left on the ground by someone’s foot or shoe
  12. footsteps the sound made by feet walking or running
  13. gentleman (in this story) a man from a high social class, well-educated and usually wealthy (i.e. not a servant or a workman)
  14. gloomy dark, miserable; sad and without hope
  15. governess a woman employed to teach the children of a rich family in their home
  16. guardian someone who is legally responsible for a young person whose parents are dead
  17. hood a kind of hat, attached to a coat or cloak, which covers the top and back of the head
  18. housekeeper a person employed to manage and look after someone else’s house
  19. identity who a person is
  20. Lady a title used by the wife or daughter of a nobleman
  21. loan an amount of money that a person or bank lends to someone
  22. lodgings a room in someone’s house that you rent to live in
  23. magistrate a judge who deals with smaller crimes in local courts
  24. mental connected with the health of the mind
  25. morgue a building where dead bodies are kept before burial
  26. nerves the long thin threads in the body that carry messages between the brain and other parts of the body
  27. nobleman a man who has a title and who is from a very old family of high social rank
  28. nudge to give someone a gentle push to get their attention
  29. opera a play in which most of the words are sung to music
  30. post-bag (in former times) a bag in which all the letters of the house are collected to be taken to the post
  31. rank the position that somebody has in society
  32. register (n) an official record of births, marriages, and deaths
  33. rustle (v) to make a sound like papers, leaves, etc. rubbing together
  34. scar a mark left on the skin after a wound has healed
  35. shiver (v) to tremble from cold, or with fear, excitement, etc.
  36. sketch (v & n) to make a quick, simple drawing of something
  37. typhus a serious infectious disease that causes fever, headaches, and often death
  38. veil a covering of thin material worn by women to hide the face
  39. verandah a platform with a roof, built onto the side of a house on the ground floor
  40. vestry a room in a church where things like church records and the priest’s clothes are kept
 

 
 

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