Chapter 2 of Short stories from the Balkans is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 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 from the Balkans is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Shrill laughter was the answer. “Give me the flute--and take my soul!” Again the laughter echoed. In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him. Together they sank slowly to the earth.
Chapter 2 of Short stories from the Balkans is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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 strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading “In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “Again the laughter echoed.”
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading “In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.”
a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown
From this reading ““Give me the flute--and take my soul!””
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “Together they sank slowly to the earth.”
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading “In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.”
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading “Shrill laughter was the answer.”
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading “In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.”
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 “Shrill laughter was the answer.”
In this reading “In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.”
In this reading “Together they sank slowly to the earth.”
In this reading “In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.”
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.
anew
From this reading Again the laughter echoed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
react verbally
From this reading Shrill laughter was the answer.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Together they sank slowly to the earth.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading Again the laughter echoed.
past form of “embrace” — include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Shrill laughter was the answer.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
above and across; more than
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading Together they sank slowly to the earth.
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading Shrill laughter was the answer.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Together they sank slowly to the earth.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
carry out
From this reading “Give me the flute--and take my soul!”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Shrill laughter was the answer.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Together they sank slowly to the earth.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Together they sank slowly to the earth.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Shrill laughter was the answer.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading In wild anger Cœlestin fell upon Satan and tried to take the flute away, but Satan embraced him, and spread his black wings over him.
Chapter 2 of Short stories from the Balkans by Edna Worthley [Translator] Underwood holds 405 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 2 holds 405 sentences of Short stories from the Balkans, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Short stories from the Balkans by Edna Worthley [Translator] Underwood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 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 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 from the Balkans by Edna Worthley [Translator] Underwood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Short stories from the Balkans section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Short stories from the Balkans 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 from the Balkans, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
