Chapter 19 of The Wife, and Other Stories is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XIX
Chapter 19 of The Wife, and Other Stories is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle. “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow! I do like that--upon my soul I do! What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish! And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
Chapter 19 of The Wife, and Other Stories is here in full — 169 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
great coolness and composure under strain
From this reading “What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!”
pleasing or delighting
From this reading ““Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.”
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading ““Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!”
grow vigorously
From this reading ““Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!”
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!”
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading ““Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!”
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading “And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.”
suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
From this reading “What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!”
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 “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
great coolness and composure under strain
From this reading What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
a youthful male person
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
pleasing or delighting
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do like that--upon my soul I do!
a boy or man
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
grow vigorously
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I do like that--upon my soul I do!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
and nothing more
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I do like that--upon my soul I do!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading I do like that--upon my soul I do!
happening unexpectedly
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
plural of “think” — an instance of deliberate thinking
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading And what boy is this?” he asked, suddenly turning and looking at me.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading “Come! isn’t that charming?” laughed my uncle.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading I do like that--upon my soul I do!
precisely as stated
From this reading “Just look! he has made his little flourish and thinks he’s a very clever fellow!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!
suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
From this reading What youthful aplomb, what life in that foolish flourish!
Chapter 19 of The Wife, and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov holds 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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 19 holds 169 sentences of The Wife, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 19 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 169 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 19 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.
