Chapter 28 of War and Peace is here in full — 1074 sentences across 215 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of War and Peace is here in full — 1074 sentences across 215 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted. There was hardly anyone in the streets. The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard. Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard. The Povarskáya was quite still and deserted.
Chapter 28 of War and Peace is here in full — 1074 sentences across 215 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/214 · 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.
given to or marked by the consumption of alcohol
From this reading “The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.”
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading “Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.”
not often
From this reading “Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.”
plural of “shop” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading “The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.”
plural of “shout” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading “The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.”
characterized by or preferring solitude
From this reading “The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.”
plural of “song” — a short musical composition with words
From this reading “The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.”
plural of “tavern” — a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
From this reading “The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
any person at all
From this reading There was hardly anyone in the streets.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
forsaken by owner or inhabitants
From this reading Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted.
a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
From this reading Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.
given to or marked by the consumption of alcohol
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
plural of “footstep” — the sound of a step of someone walking
From this reading Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
only a very short time before
From this reading There was hardly anyone in the streets.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There was hardly anyone in the streets.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted.
at the same time but in another place
From this reading Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted.
no person; not anyone
From this reading Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.
and nothing more
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Povarskáya was quite still and deserted.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The Povarskáya was quite still and deserted.
not often
From this reading Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
plural of “shop” — a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
plural of “shout” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
characterized by or preferring solitude
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
plural of “song” — a short musical composition with words
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
not in physical motion
From this reading The Povarskáya was quite still and deserted.
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading There was hardly anyone in the streets.
plural of “tavern” — a building with a bar that is licensed to sell alcoholic drinks
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was hardly anyone in the streets.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Nobody drove through the streets and footsteps were rarely heard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Meanwhile, the city itself was deserted.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The gates and shops were all closed, only here and there round the taverns solitary shouts or drunken songs could be heard.
Chapter 28 of War and Peace by Leo, graf Tolstoy holds 1074 sentences, grouped into 215 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 28 holds 1074 sentences of War and Peace, unabridged, divided into 215 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of War and Peace by Leo, graf Tolstoy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1074 sentences, grouped into 215 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 215 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 215 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 28 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 War and Peace by Leo, graf Tolstoy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 30326 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2600 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2600, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 6066 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through War and Peace section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of War and Peace 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 War and Peace, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
