Chapter 2 of Short Stories is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Short Stories is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.' He shook his head. 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.' "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better. Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
Chapter 2 of Short Stories is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading “Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'”
take in solid food
From this reading “"'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'”
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading “"I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.”
by chance
From this reading “"'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “He shook his head.”
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “"I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.”
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading “Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!”
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.
In this reading “"I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.”
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 Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
take in solid food
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He shook his head.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He shook his head.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He shook his head.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
not any; not one
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
by chance
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading He shook his head.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
(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 Well, thinks I, it's a bad look-out!
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading "I made some tea for him, I quite flustered our old woman--he was no better.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'No,' said he, 'I won't have any dinner to-day, Astafy Ivanovitch.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'Come, eat some of this,' said I, 'and perhaps you'll be better.'
Chapter 2 of Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 2 holds 416 sentences of Short Stories, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 2 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 Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5443 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40745 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40745, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 453 minutes of reading across 1089 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Short Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of 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 Short Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
