Chapter 7 of Birds of Heaven, 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 VII
Chapter 7 of Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He went off singing an indecent song. A little while after I hunted up this dialogue. I wondered what he meant.... “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece. The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
Chapter 7 of Birds of Heaven, 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.
a conversation between two persons
From this reading “A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.”
reflecting the fear or terror of one who is hunted
From this reading “A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.”
not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society
From this reading ““He went off singing an indecent song.”
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading ““You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.”
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading ““He went off singing an indecent song.”
a short musical composition with words
From this reading ““He went off singing an indecent song.”
possessive form of “subject” — the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading “I wondered what he meant....”
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.
run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
In this reading ““He went off singing an indecent song.”
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 little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
later than; following
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
ancient Athenian statesman and general in the Peloponnesian War (circa 450-404 BC)
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
a conversation between two persons
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
reflecting the fear or terror of one who is hunted
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
inflected form of “mean” — mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading I wondered what he meant....
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
Athenian statesman whose leadership contributed to Athens' political and cultural supremacy in Greece; he ordered the construction of the Parthenon (died in 429 BC)
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
a separate part of a whole
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
having great power or force or potency or effect
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
possessive form of “subject” — the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “He went off singing an indecent song.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I wondered what he meant....
during the time that
From this reading A little while after I hunted up this dialogue.
past form of “wonder” — have a wish or desire to know something
From this reading I wondered what he meant....
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You know it’s a hard but a powerful piece.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading The subject’s about like this: Young Alcibiades went one day to Pericles....
Chapter 7 of Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories by Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko 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 7 holds 401 sentences of Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories by Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko 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 7 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 Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories by Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3712 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60256 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60256, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 309 minutes of reading across 743 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Birds of Heaven, 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 Birds of Heaven, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
