Chapter 9 of Old Peter's Russian Tales is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Old Peter's Russian Tales is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Give him a little ship," said the mother. "He may not be a ninny after all." "Very well," said his father. "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo." "Give me any cargo you like," said Ivan.
Chapter 9 of Old Peter's Russian Tales is here in full — 440 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
goods carried by a large vehicle
From this reading “"I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."”
the act of giving
From this reading “"I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."”
the act of departing
From this reading “"I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."”
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “"Give him a little ship," said the mother.”
a stupid foolish person
From this reading “"He may not be a ninny after all."”
possessing material wealth
From this reading “"I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."”
transport commercially
From this reading “"Give him a little ship," said the mother.”
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading “"I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."”
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 "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
later than; following
From this reading "He may not be a ninny after all."
(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 "He may not be a ninny after all."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Give me any cargo you like," said Ivan.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "He may not be a ninny after all."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
goods carried by a large vehicle
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading "Very well," said his father.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
the act of giving
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
the act of departing
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He may not be a ninny after all."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Very well," said his father.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Give me any cargo you like," said Ivan.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Give me any cargo you like," said Ivan.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "He may not be a ninny after all."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Give me any cargo you like," said Ivan.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
a stupid foolish person
From this reading "He may not be a ninny after all."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "He may not be a ninny after all."
possessing material wealth
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
transport commercially
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Give him a little ship," said the mother.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
precisely as stated
From this reading "Very well," said his father.
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Very well," said his father.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "I will give him a little ship; but I am not going to waste good roubles by giving him a rich cargo."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Give me any cargo you like," said Ivan.
Chapter 9 of Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome holds 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 9 holds 440 sentences of Old Peter's Russian Tales, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 440 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 9 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 Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3961 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16981 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16981, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 330 minutes of reading across 793 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Peter's Russian Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Old Peter's Russian Tales 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 Old Peter's Russian Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
