Chapter 12 of Short Stories is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Short Stories is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
To begin with the smell. There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques. One was a general's and one some lady's. There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety. The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
Chapter 12 of Short Stories is here in full — 418 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.
in Christianity, clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity)
From this reading “The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.”
express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading “The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.”
not genuine
From this reading “There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.”
possessive form of “general” — a general officer of the highest rank
From this reading “One was a general's and one some lady's.”
the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
From this reading “The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.”
plural of “mourner” — a person who is feeling grief (as grieving over someone who has died)
From this reading “There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.”
state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
From this reading “There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.”
marked by diversity or difference
From this reading “There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.”
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 “The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.”
In this reading “There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.”
In this reading “The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.”
In this reading “To begin with the smell.”
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 One was a general's and one some lady's.
in actual fact
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading One was a general's and one some lady's.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading To begin with the smell.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
in Christianity, clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity)
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
the quality of being high-priced
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
not genuine
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fourteen and one
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
a gay feeling
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
possessive form of “general” — a general officer of the highest rank
From this reading One was a general's and one some lady's.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
possessive form of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading One was a general's and one some lady's.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
plural of “mourner” — a person who is feeling grief (as grieving over someone who has died)
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One was a general's and one some lady's.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading There were many mourners, a great deal of feigned mourning and a great deal of open gaiety.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
From this reading To begin with the smell.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading One was a general's and one some lady's.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading To begin with the smell.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The clergy have nothing to complain of; it brings them a good income.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To begin with the smell.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
marked by diversity or difference
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading One was a general's and one some lady's.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were fifteen hearses, with palls varying in expensiveness; there were actually two catafalques.
in the company of; together with
From this reading To begin with the smell.
Chapter 12 of Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky holds 418 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 12 holds 418 sentences of Short Stories, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Short Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 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 12 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.
