Chapter 39 of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said. Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off. The corporal smiled slightly. “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot. Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
Chapter 39 of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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 noncommissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marines
From this reading “The corporal smiled slightly.”
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading “Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.”
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading “Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.”
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading “Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.”
having branches or flower heads that bend downward
From this reading ““Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.”
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.”
plural of “shot” — the act of firing a projectile
From this reading ““Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.”
to a small degree or extent
From this reading “The corporal smiled slightly.”
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 Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
a noncommissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marines
From this reading The corporal smiled slightly.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
destroyed or killed
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
and nothing more
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
having branches or flower heads that bend downward
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
plural of “pace” — the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
cut with a saw
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
plural of “shot” — the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading Having gone a few paces farther they saw Gúrka sitting behind a sand-hillock and loading his gun.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading The corporal smiled slightly.
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The corporal smiled slightly.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The corporal smiled slightly.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “Our Gúrka is having shots at them,” he said, nodding in the direction of the shot.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading Just then they heard a sharp shot some thirty paces off.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Are they far?” was all Lukáshka said.
Chapter 39 of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 by Leo, graf Tolstoy holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 39 holds 95 sentences of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 by Leo, graf Tolstoy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 39 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 Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 by Leo, graf Tolstoy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4174 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4761 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4761, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 347 minutes of reading across 835 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Cossacks: A Tale of 1852 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 Cossacks: A Tale of 1852, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
