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A Family of Noblemen
A Family of Noblemen

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of A Family of Noblemen is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for A Family of Noblemen
Context Illustration Reading 1/82 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
It was the end of November.
As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.
A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.
The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.
The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

A Family of Noblemen

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of A Family of Noblemen is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
It was the end of November.
/ɪt wɑːz ðə end ʌv noʊˈvembər/
Line 2
As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.
/æz fɑːr æz aɪ kʊd siː ðə ɡraʊnd wɑːz ˈkʌvərd wɪð ə waɪt ʃraʊd/
Line 3
A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.
Line 4
The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.
/ðə ˈvɪlədʒ ðə tʃɜːrtʃ ðə ˈnɪrˈbaɪ wʊdz ɔːl ˈvænɪʃt ɪn ðə ˈwɜːrlɪŋ ˈsnoʊi mɪst/
Line 5
The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.

Learner Dictionary

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.

biting adjective US /ˈbaɪtɪŋ/

capable of wounding

From this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blizzard noun US /ˈblɪzərd/

a storm with widespread snowfall accompanied by strong winds

From this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
howled verb US /haʊld/

past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries

From this reading “The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lashed verb US /læʃt/

past form of “lash” — beat severely with a whip or rod

From this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nearby adjective US /ˈnɪrˈbaɪ/

close at hand

From this reading “The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
outdoors adverb US /ˈaʊtˈdɔːrz/

outside a building

From this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shroud verb US /ʃraʊd/

cover as if with a shroud

From this reading “As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wailing noun US /ˈweɪlɪŋ/

loud cries made while weeping

From this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

biting wind adjective + noun

In this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

209 times in 426,212 chapters
wind drove noun + noun

In this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

390 times in 426,212 chapters
in an instant preposition + article + noun counted as “in … instant”

In this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

15,733 times in 426,212 chapters
reigned in verb + particle counted as “reign in”

In this reading “A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.”

3,233 times in 426,212 chapters

All words in this reading · 55

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
airnounUS /er/

a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ancientadjectiveUS /ˈeɪn.ʃənt/

Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.

From this reading The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.

Velmora curated lexicon
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AsconjunctionUS /æz/

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

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
bitingadjectiveUS /ˈbaɪtɪŋ/

capable of wounding

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blizzardnounUS /ˈblɪzərd/

a storm with widespread snowfall accompanied by strong winds

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
churchnounUS /tʃɜːrtʃ/

one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
coveredadjectiveUS /ˈkʌvərd/

overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
coveringnounUS /ˈkʌvərɪŋ/

a natural object that covers or envelops

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
drovenounUS /droʊv/

a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
endnounUS /end/

either extremity of something that has length

From this reading It was the end of November.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
everydeterminerUS /ˈevəri/

all the members of a group, with none left out

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
eyenounUS /aɪ/

the organ of sight

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
faradverbUS /fɑːr/

to a considerable degree; very much

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fillingnounUS /ˈfɪlɪŋ/

any material that fills a space or container

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Golovliovo

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

From this reading The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.

Pending verification
groundnounUS /ɡraʊnd/

the solid part of the earth's surface

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
higheradjectiveUS /ˈhaɪər/

advanced in complexity or elaboration

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
howledverbUS /haʊld/

past form of “howl” — emit long loud cries

From this reading The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hugeadjectiveUS /hjuːdʒ/

unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
instantnounUS /ˈɪnstənt/

a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was the end of November.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
lashedverbUS /læʃt/

past form of “lash” — beat severely with a whip or rod

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mistverbUS /mɪst/

become covered with mist

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nearbyadjectiveUS /ˈnɪrˈbaɪ/

close at hand

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
NovembernounUS /noʊˈvembər/

the month following October and preceding December

From this reading It was the end of November.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
objectnounUS /ˈɑːbdʒekt/

a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading It was the end of November.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
orchardnounUS /ˈɔːrtʃərd/

garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth

From this reading The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
outdoorsadverbUS /ˈaʊtˈdɔːrz/

outside a building

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
piledverbUS /paɪld/

past form of “pile” — arrange in stacks

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
reignedverbUS /reɪnd/

past form of “reign” — have sovereign power

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shroudverbUS /ʃraʊd/

cover as if with a shroud

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
snownounUS /snoʊ/

precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
snow-drifts

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

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

Pending verification
snowyadjectiveUS /ˈsnoʊi/

marked by the presence of snow

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading It was the end of November.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
treesnounUS /triːz/

plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

From this reading The wind howled in the trees of the ancient Golovliovo orchard.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
vanishedadjectiveUS /ˈvænɪʃt/

having passed out of existence

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
villagenounUS /ˈvɪlədʒ/

a community of people smaller than a town

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wailingnounUS /ˈweɪlɪŋ/

loud cries made while weeping

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading It was the end of November.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whirlingnounUS /ˈwɜːrlɪŋ/

the act of rotating in a circle or spiral

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
whitenounUS /waɪt/

a Caucasian

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
windnounUS /waɪnd/

air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

From this reading A blizzard reigned in the night outdoors; the biting wind drove the snow, piled up huge snow-drifts in an instant, lashed the snow higher and higher, covering every object and filling the air with a wailing.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading As far as eye could see the ground was covered with a white shroud.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
woodsnounUS /wʊdz/

the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area

From this reading The village, the church, the nearby woods, all vanished in the whirling snowy mist.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 14 of A Family of Noblemen by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

What does chapter 14 of A Family of Noblemen contain?

Chapter 14 holds 411 sentences of A Family of Noblemen, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 14 of A Family of Noblemen by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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.

How do I study chapter 14 of A Family of Noblemen?

Work through the 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 83 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.

Can chapter 14 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 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.

Questions about reading A Family of Noblemen

Common questions about reading A Family of Noblemen by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of A Family of Noblemen?

Yes. All 7878 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44237 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of A Family of Noblemen is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #44237, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does A Family of Noblemen take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1576 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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How to work through A Family of Noblemen section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  3. Listen and tap

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Vocabulary met early in A Family of Noblemen

Words and structures a reader meets early in A Family of Noblemen, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Liveright
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Family of Noblemen; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Anton
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Family of Noblemen; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Vasilyev
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Family of Noblemen; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Manager
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Family of Noblemen; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.