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The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories
The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories
Context Illustration Reading 1/24 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.
There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.
He is a Domostroy,”[*] said the lady.
What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”
[*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/24 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.
Line 2
There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.
Line 3
He is a Domostroy,”[*] said the lady.
Line 4
What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”
Line 5
[*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

All words in this reading · 36

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

about

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

began

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

clerk

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

code

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

conversation

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

days

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

Domostroy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He is a Domostroy,”[*] said the lady.

father

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

general

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

gone

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

He

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He is a Domostroy,”[*] said the lady.

ideas

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

is

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He is a Domostroy,”[*] said the lady.

Ivan

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

lady

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “He is a Domostroy,”[*] said the lady.

little

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

man

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

marriage

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

matrimonial

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

old

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

said

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

savage

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

Scarcely

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

Terrible

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading [*] The Domostroy is a matrimonial code of the days of Ivan the Terrible.

Testament

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

There's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

What

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

when

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Scarcely had the old man gone when a general conversation began.

woman

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “What savage ideas about a woman and marriage!”

you

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “There’s a little Old Testament father for you,” said the clerk.

Chapter 2 of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories by Leo, graf Tolstoy holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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.

What does chapter 2 of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories contain?

Chapter 2 holds 123 sentences of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories by Leo, graf Tolstoy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories?

Work through the 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 25 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

Common questions about reading The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories by Leo, graf Tolstoy on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories?

Yes. All 3753 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #689 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #689, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories take to read?

About 312 minutes of reading across 751 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories section by section

How to work through The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 38 chapters of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Candle
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Translator
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Preface
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Comparing
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.