Chapter 15 of Best Russian Short Stories is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Best Russian Short Stories is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice. Andersen stretched out on the ground. The soldiers left quickly. But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground. The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
Chapter 15 of Best Russian Short Stories is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
a Danish author remembered for his fairy stories (1805-1875)
From this reading “Andersen stretched out on the ground.”
having lost your job
From this reading “The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.”
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading “But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground.”
a numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference number
From this reading “The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.”
shake with fast, tremulous movements
From this reading “The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.”
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading “The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.”
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.”
push forcefully
From this reading “The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.”
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 The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
a Danish author remembered for his fairy stories (1805-1875)
From this reading Andersen stretched out on the ground.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground.
without stop or interruption
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
having lost your job
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another
From this reading But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Andersen stretched out on the ground.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
a numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference number
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading The soldiers left quickly.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Andersen stretched out on the ground.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Andersen stretched out on the ground.
compacted by ironing
From this reading But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground.
with speed
From this reading The soldiers left quickly.
shake with fast, tremulous movements
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
past form of “remain” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground.
a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
done under pressure
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
plural of “second” — 1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
in a meaningless and purposeless manner
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading The soldiers left quickly.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading Andersen stretched out on the ground.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading The index finger of his left hand continued to quiver for about ten seconds.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
push forcefully
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But Andersen remained pressed flat to the ground.
in the direction of
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
two times
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
which person or people
From this reading The officer, who had turned green, rushed toward him, and senselessly thrust the revolver against his neck, and fired twice.
Chapter 15 of Best Russian Short Stories by Thomas [Editor] Seltzer holds 412 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.
Chapter 15 holds 412 sentences of Best Russian Short Stories, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Best Russian Short Stories by Thomas [Editor] Seltzer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 15 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 Best Russian Short Stories by Thomas [Editor] Seltzer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6135 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13437 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13437, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 511 minutes of reading across 1227 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Best Russian Short Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Best Russian Short 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 Best Russian Short Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
