Chapter 31 of The Little Demon is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Little Demon is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
At last the counting of the cards began. The stewards of the Club composed the committee. A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room. For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull. The music ceased.
Chapter 31 of The Little Demon is here in full — 220 sentences across 44 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.
a game played with playing cards
From this reading “At last the counting of the cards began.”
a special group delegated to consider some matter
From this reading “The stewards of the Club composed the committee.”
serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress
From this reading “The stewards of the Club composed the committee.”
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading “At last the counting of the cards began.”
marked by eager anticipation
From this reading “A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.”
a book of the Old Testament that tells the history of Israel under the leaders known as judges
From this reading “A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.”
plural of “steward” — someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading “The stewards of the Club composed the committee.”
in a tense manner
From this reading “A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.”
In this reading “For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.”
In this reading “A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.”
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 A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
a game played with playing cards
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading The music ceased.
a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
From this reading The stewards of the Club composed the committee.
a special group delegated to consider some matter
From this reading The stewards of the Club composed the committee.
serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress
From this reading The stewards of the Club composed the committee.
the act of counting; reciting numbers in ascending order
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
marked by eager anticipation
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
brought together in one place
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
a book of the Old Testament that tells the history of Israel under the leaders known as judges
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
immediately past
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading The music ceased.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
plural of “steward” — someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else
From this reading The stewards of the Club composed the committee.
in a tense manner
From this reading A tensely expectant crowd gathered at the door of the judges' room.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At last the counting of the cards began.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading For a short time in the dancing-hall everything became quiet and dull.
Chapter 31 of The Little Demon by Fyodor Sologub holds 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 31 holds 220 sentences of The Little Demon, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Little Demon by Fyodor Sologub exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 220 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 31 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 Little Demon by Fyodor Sologub on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7928 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48912 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48912, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1586 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little Demon section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Little Demon 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 Little Demon, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
