Chapter 1 of A Desperate Character and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Desperate Character and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i. Rudin. ii. A House of Gentlefolk. iii. On the Eve. iv. Fathers and Children. v.
Chapter 1 of A Desperate Character and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading “Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.”
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.”
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading “On the Eve. iv.”
plural of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading “Fathers and Children. v.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading “Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.”
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading “Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.”
past form of “translate” — restate (words) from one language into another language
From this reading “Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.”
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A House of Gentlefolk. iii.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Fathers and Children. v.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Fathers and Children. v.
come or bring to a finish or an end
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
(Old Testament) Adam's wife in Judeo-Christian mythology: the first woman and mother of the human race; God created Eve from Adam's rib and placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
From this reading On the Eve. iv.
plural of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Fathers and Children. v.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
people of good family and breeding and high social status
From this reading A House of Gentlefolk. iii.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading A House of Gentlefolk. iii.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Rudin. ii.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading A House of Gentlefolk. iii.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading On the Eve. iv.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A House of Gentlefolk. iii.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the Eve. iv.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Rudin. ii.
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
past form of “translate” — restate (words) from one language into another language
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading Fathers and Children. v.
plural of “volume” — the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading Translated from the Russian By Constance Garnett Complete in Fifteen Volumes. i.
Chapter 1 of A Desperate Character and Other Stories by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 401 sentences of A Desperate Character and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Desperate Character and Other Stories by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 A Desperate Character and Other Stories by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4914 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8871 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8871, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 409 minutes of reading across 983 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Desperate Character and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of A Desperate Character and Other Stories 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 A Desperate Character and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
