Chapter 9 of The Darling and Other Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Darling and Other Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time. Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony? Very well, then; I congratulate you." And he put his lips out to be kissed. Laptev bent down and kissed him.
Chapter 9 of The Darling and Other Stories is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading “Laptev bent down and kissed him.”
say something to someone that expresses praise
From this reading “Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?”
a movement into or inward
From this reading “Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?”
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading “Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?”
past form of “honour” — bestow honor or rewards upon
From this reading “"It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “And he put his lips out to be kissed.”
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading “Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?”
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading “Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?”
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 "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way
From this reading Laptev bent down and kissed him.
say something to someone that expresses praise
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Laptev bent down and kissed him.
a movement into or inward
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Laptev bent down and kissed him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
past form of “honour” — bestow honor or rewards upon
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Laptev bent down and kissed him.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading And he put his lips out to be kissed.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
cut with a saw
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
term of address for a man
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Very well, then; I congratulate you."
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
precisely as stated
From this reading Very well, then; I congratulate you."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, am I to congratulate you on entering the state of holy matrimony?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It's a good long time since we saw you, honoured sir," said the old man--"a good long time.
Chapter 9 of The Darling and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 9 holds 410 sentences of The Darling and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Darling and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 9 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 Darling and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4856 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13416 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13416, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 404 minutes of reading across 972 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Darling and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Darling 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 Darling and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
