Chapter 20 of Through Russia is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Through Russia is here in full — 184 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly. As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet. Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting. "Go now," she adds in a whisper. "Yes, go."
Chapter 20 of Through Russia is here in full — 184 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.
plural of “add” — a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
From this reading “"Go now," she adds in a whisper.”
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading “Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.”
An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by the walls of a house.
From this reading “Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.”
a game in which small pointed missiles are thrown at a dartboard
From this reading “Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.”
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading “Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.”
a descent as through liquid (especially through water)
From this reading “As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.”
the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow
From this reading “Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.”
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading “"You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.”
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 Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
plural of “add” — a condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disorders
From this reading "Go now," she adds in a whisper.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
a grouping of a number of similar things
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by the walls of a house.
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
a game in which small pointed missiles are thrown at a dartboard
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
enclose with a fence
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
plural of “glance” — a quick look
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "Go now," she adds in a whisper.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
succulent herbaceous vegetation of pasture land
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Go now," she adds in a whisper.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Go now," she adds in a whisper.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
a descent as through liquid (especially through water)
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
with low volume
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
third-person singular of “speak” — express in speech
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading As she speaks, the earth seems to be sinking under my feet.
in or at the place that
From this reading Then she tears herself away, glances around the courtyard, and darts to a corner where, under a fence, a clump of herbage is sprouting.
speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading "Go now," she adds in a whisper.
plural of “whisper” — speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, go."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You have been oh, so good!" she whispers softly.
Chapter 20 of Through Russia by Maksim Gorky holds 184 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 20 holds 184 sentences of Through Russia, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Through Russia by Maksim Gorky exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 184 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 20 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 Through Russia by Maksim Gorky on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5371 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2288 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2288, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 447 minutes of reading across 1075 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Through Russia section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Through Russia 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 Through Russia, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
