Chapter 5 of The Old House, and Other Tales is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Old House, and Other Tales is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Then there was sudden laughter. It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal. The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening. Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows. He listened intently.
Chapter 5 of The Old House, and Other Tales is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
marked by complexity and richness of detail
From this reading “The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.”
plural of “elbow” — hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading “Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.”
plural of “palm” — the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.”
covered with or consisting of rust
From this reading “It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.”
plural of “temple” — place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity
From this reading “Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.”
past form of “tinkle” — make or emit a high sound
From this reading “The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.”
an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading “The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.”
reverse the winding or twisting of
From this reading “The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.”
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 “He listened intently.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
marked by complexity and richness of detail
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
plural of “elbow” — hinge joint between the forearm and upper arm and the corresponding joint in the forelimb of a quadruped
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He listened intently.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
with strained or eager attention
From this reading He listened intently.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Then there was sudden laughter.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading He listened intently.
any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
above and across; more than
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
plural of “palm” — the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
covered with or consisting of rust
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
the season of growth
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
in a softened tone
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading Then there was sudden laughter.
plural of “temple” — place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was sharp, and it was like the sound of rusty metal.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then there was sudden laughter.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Then there was sudden laughter.
past form of “tinkle” — make or emit a high sound
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
an artifact designed to be played with
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
past form of “tremble” — move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
reverse the winding or twisting of
From this reading The spring of some elaborate toy seemed to unwind itself, and trembled and tinkled in the subdued quiet of the evening.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Sonpolyev put the palms of his hands over his temples, and rested upon his elbows.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then there was sudden laughter.
Chapter 5 of The Old House, and Other Tales by Fyodor Sologub holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 5 holds 420 sentences of The Old House, and Other Tales, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Old House, and Other Tales by Fyodor Sologub exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 5 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 Old House, and Other Tales by Fyodor Sologub on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4042 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48452 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48452, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 336 minutes of reading across 809 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old House, and Other Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Old House, and Other Tales 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 Old House, and Other Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
