Chapter 4 of The Wife, and Other Stories is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Wife, and Other Stories is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What a baby you are, Natalie! Fie, fie! Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me. I assure you you will.” In my own room I set to work without haste.
Chapter 4 of The Wife, and Other Stories is here in full — 182 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/36 · 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.
make certain of
From this reading “I assure you you will.””
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading ““What a baby you are, Natalie!”
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading “In my own room I set to work without haste.”
hear with intention
From this reading “Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.”
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading “Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.”
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading “Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.”
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading “Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.”
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.”
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 “What a baby you are, Natalie!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “What a baby you are, Natalie!
make certain of
From this reading I assure you you will.”
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “What a baby you are, Natalie!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fie, fie!
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I assure you you will.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
hear with intention
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What a baby you are, Natalie!
have ownership or possession of
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
be fully aware or cognizant of
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What a baby you are, Natalie!
at the time that
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Listen, Natalie: when you realize how serious and responsible a business it is you will be the first to thank me.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading In my own room I set to work without haste.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What a baby you are, Natalie!
Chapter 4 of The Wife, and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov holds 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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.
Chapter 4 holds 182 sentences of The Wife, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Wife, and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 182 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 4 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 Wife, and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4371 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1883, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 364 minutes of reading across 875 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wife, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Wife, 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 Wife, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
