Chapter 1 of Taras Bulba, and Other Tales is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Taras Bulba, and Other Tales is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Turn round, my boy! How ridiculous you look! What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on? Does everybody at the academy dress like that?” With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
Chapter 1 of Taras Bulba, and Other Tales is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
not being in a specified place
From this reading “With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.”
A place of study or training in a special field of knowledge and arts.
From this reading “Does everybody at the academy dress like that?””
a black garment reaching down to the ankles; worn by priests or choristers
From this reading “What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?”
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading “With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.”
possessive form of “priest” — a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
inspiring scornful pity
From this reading “How ridiculous you look!”
a private place of education for the young
From this reading “With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.”
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading “With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.”
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 What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
not being in a specified place
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
A place of study or training in a special field of knowledge and arts.
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
a youthful male person
From this reading “Turn round, my boy!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
a black garment reaching down to the ankles; worn by priests or choristers
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
put on clothes
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
every person
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
express greetings upon meeting someone
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How ridiculous you look!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading How ridiculous you look!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Turn round, my boy!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
possessive form of “priest” — a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
past form of “return” — go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
inspiring scornful pity
From this reading How ridiculous you look!
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading “Turn round, my boy!
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
a private place of education for the young
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Does everybody at the academy dress like that?”
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
From this reading “Turn round, my boy!
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What sort of a priest’s cassock have you got on?
which person or people
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
the words that are spoken
From this reading With such words did old Bulba greet his two sons, who had been absent for their education at the Royal Seminary of Kief, and had now returned home to their father.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How ridiculous you look!
Chapter 1 of Taras Bulba, and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 1 holds 222 sentences of Taras Bulba, and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Taras Bulba, and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 1 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 Taras Bulba, and Other Tales by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5320 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1197 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1197, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 443 minutes of reading across 1064 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Taras Bulba, and Other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 21 chapters of Taras Bulba, and Other 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 Taras Bulba, and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
