Chapter 12 of The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FISH A SUMMER morning. The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove. Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
Chapter 12 of The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.”
-ing form of “coo” — speak softly or lovingly
From this reading “The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.”
resembling or suggesting a feather or feathers
From this reading “Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.”
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading “THE FISH A SUMMER morning.”
terrestrial plant-eating insect with hind legs adapted for leaping
From this reading “The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.”
not in physical motion
From this reading “Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.”
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading “Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.”
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading “The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.”
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 THE FISH A SUMMER morning.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
-ing form of “coo” — speak softly or lovingly
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
resembling or suggesting a feather or feathers
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills
From this reading THE FISH A SUMMER morning.
terrestrial plant-eating insect with hind legs adapted for leaping
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading THE FISH A SUMMER morning.
not in physical motion
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
not any; not one
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
in or at or to some place
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
be standing; be upright
From this reading Feathery clouds stand motionless in the sky, looking like snow scattered about.
not in physical motion
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading THE FISH A SUMMER morning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FISH A SUMMER morning.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
showing fear and lack of confidence
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The air is still; there is no sound but the churring of a grasshopper on the river bank, and somewhere the timid cooing of a turtle-dove.
Chapter 12 of The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 397 sentences of The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5265 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13417 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13417, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 438 minutes of reading across 1053 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Cook's Wedding and Other 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 The Cook's Wedding and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
