Chapter 5 of Under Western Eyes is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Under Western Eyes is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash. Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.” The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher! L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....” Razumov spun round.
Chapter 5 of Under Western Eyes is here in full — 195 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
From this reading “Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.”
fall or come down violently
From this reading “Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.”
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading “Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.”
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading “The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!”
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading “L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....””
in a polite manner
From this reading “Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.””
uttered in a shrill scream as of pain or terror
From this reading “The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!”
inflected form of “spin” — revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading “Razumov spun round.”
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 Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
an alloy of copper and tin and sometimes other elements; also any copper-base alloy containing other elements in place of tin
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
fall or come down violently
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....”
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
the second day of the week; the first working day
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
in a polite manner
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Razumov spun round.
uttered in a shrill scream as of pain or terror
From this reading The Prince almost shrieked, “_Mais comprenez-vous, mon cher!
inflected form of “spin” — revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading Razumov spun round.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Razumov held his breath before the bronze as if expecting a crash.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Behind his back a voice he had never heard before insisted politely-- “_Asseyez-vous donc_.”
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading L’assassin_! the murderer--we have got him....”
Chapter 5 of Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad holds 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 5 holds 195 sentences of Under Western Eyes, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 195 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 8310 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2480 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2480, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1662 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Under Western Eyes section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Under Western Eyes 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 Under Western Eyes, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
