Chapter 1 of The Mantle, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mantle, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC. "Gogol, Nikolai Vassilievitch. Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852. A Russian novelist and dramatist.
Chapter 1 of The Mantle, and Other Stories is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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.
someone who writes plays
From this reading “A Russian novelist and dramatist.”
a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading “Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.”
a city of central European Russia; formerly capital of both the Soviet Union and Soviet Russia; since 1991 the capital of the Russian Federation
From this reading “Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.”
one who writes novels
From this reading “A Russian novelist and dramatist.”
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading “A Russian novelist and dramatist.”
plural of “tara” — a village in eastern Ireland (northwest of Dublin); seat of Irish kings until 6th century
From this reading “] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.”
the words of something written
From this reading “Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.”
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A Russian novelist and dramatist.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A Russian novelist and dramatist.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
brought into existence
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
someone who writes plays
From this reading A Russian novelist and dramatist.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
Russian writer who introduced realism to Russian literature (1809-1852)
From this reading "Gogol, Nikolai Vassilievitch.
the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
march in a procession
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
strongly marked; easily noticeable
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
a city of central European Russia; formerly capital of both the Soviet Union and Soviet Russia; since 1991 the capital of the Russian Federation
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gogol, Nikolai Vassilievitch.
one who writes novels
From this reading A Russian novelist and dramatist.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
a native or inhabitant of Russia
From this reading A Russian novelist and dramatist.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
plural of “soul” — the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
plural of “tara” — a village in eastern Ireland (northwest of Dublin); seat of Irish kings until 6th century
From this reading ] AUTHOR OF "DEAD SOULS," "TARAS BULBA," ETC.
the words of something written
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Born in the government of Pultowa, March 31 (N.S.), 1809, died at Moscow, March 4 (N.S.), 1852.
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Gogol, Nikolai Vassilievitch.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
Chapter 1 of The Mantle, and Other Stories by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 1 holds 432 sentences of The Mantle, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mantle, and Other Stories by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 1 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 Mantle, and Other Stories by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3258 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36238 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36238, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 271 minutes of reading across 652 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mantle, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Mantle, 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 Mantle, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
