The Sea-Gull (Webster's Thesaurus Edition)

149 Pages·2006·1.19 MB·English

by  Anton Chekhov

THE SEA-GULL

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

Anton Chekhov

PSAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship
Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT is a registered trademark of the College
Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE, AP and Advanced Placement are registered
trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book
nor endorses this book, LSAT is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither
sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
The Sea-Gull

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

Anton Chekhov

PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the
College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are
registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book,
GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated
with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council
which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
ICON CLASSICS

Published by ICON Group International, Inc.
7404 Trade Street
San Diego, CA 92121 USA

www.icongrouponline.com

The Sea-Gull: Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and AP®
English Test Preparation

This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005
Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright ©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc.
Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a
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International, Inc.

PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the
National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book;
SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses
this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the
Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither
affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law
School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights
reserved.

ISBN 0-497-01004-6
iii
Contents

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR..........................................................................................1

PERSONS REPRESENTED................................................................................................3

ACT I................................................................................................................................5

ACT II.............................................................................................................................29

ACT III............................................................................................................................47

ACT IV............................................................................................................................65

GLOSSARY.....................................................................................................................89

Anton Chekhov 1

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR

Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on
standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently
assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this
edition of The Sea-Gull by Anton Chekhov was edited for students who are actively building their
vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced Placement®), GRE®,
LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations.1

Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of
synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in
other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic
words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are “difficult,
and often encountered” in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided
for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language,
and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within
context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not
already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it
has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the
book; Synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary.

Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-online-
dictionary.org. Please send suggestions to [email protected]

The Editor
Webster’s Online Dictionary
www.websters-online-dictionary.org
1 P S A T ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered trademark of the
College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are
registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book,
GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated
with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council
which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.

Anton Chekhov 3
PERSONS REPRESENTED

IRINA ABKADINA, an actress
CONSTANTINE TREPLIEFF, her son
PETER SORIN, her brother
NINA ZARIETCHNAYA, a young girl, the daughter of a rich landowner
ILIA SHAMRAEFF, the manager of SORIN'S estate
PAULINA, his wife
MASHA, their daughter
BORIS TRIGORIN, an author
EUGENE DORN, a doctor
SIMON MEDVIEDENKO, a schoolmaster
JACOB, a workman
A COOK
A MAIDSERVANT

The SCENE is laid on SORIN'S estate. Two years elapse between the third
and fourth acts.%

Thesaurus
actress: (n) player, actor, histrion, state, asset, assets. ANTONYM: (n) tenant.
artist, thespian, performer, Terry, fourth: (adv) fourthly; (n) interval, schoolmaster: (n) master, preceptor,
wood, shearer, young, west. third, after part, common fraction, pedagogue, headmaster, dominie,
author: (n) writer, producer, founder, fourth part, quartern, second; (adj) teacher, principal, educator, head,
creator, inventor, parent, originator, quaternary. Lutjanus apodus, housemaster.
architect, maker; (v) compose, create. laid: (adj) layed, lay, place, placed, put, third: (n) second, tierce, three, third
ANTONYM: (n) reader. situated, arranged, determined, part, terzetto, hot corner, third base;
elapse: (v) go by, lapse, proceed, flow, dictated, hardened, ordered. (adv) thirdly; (adj) triple, thrid, tertial.
roll, expire, pass by, slip by, fly, die, landowner: (n) landlord, laird, workman: (n) laborer, working man,
depart. landholder, proprietor, squire, worker, employee, hand, operative,
estate: (n) land, order, demesne, rank, owner, Franklin, freeholder, abutter, artisan, working person, lather,
domain, property, acres, substance, possessor, landed proprietor. mechanic, artificer.

Anton Chekhov 5

ACT %I

[The scene is laid in the park on SORIN'S estate. A broad avenue of trees
leads away from the audience toward a lake which lies lost in the depths of
the park. The avenue is obstructed by a rough stage, temporarily erected for
the performance of amateur theatricals, and which screens the lake from
view. There is a dense growth of bushes to the left and right of the stage. A
few chairs and a little table are placed in front of the stage. The sun has just
set. JACOB and some other workmen are heard hammering and coughing
on the stage behind the lowered curtain.]
[MASHA and MEDVIEDENKO come in from the left, returning from a
walk.]
MEDVIEDENKO.
Why do you always wear mourning?
MASHA.
I dress in black to match my life. I am unhappy.
MEDVIEDENKO.
Why should you be unhappy? [Thinking it over] I don't understand it. You
are healthy, and though your father is not rich, he has a good competency.
My life is far harder than yours. I only have twenty-three roubles a month to
live on, but I don't wear mourning. [They sit down].

Thesaurus
amateur: (adj) unskilled, amateurish, proficiency, faculty, power, expertise, mourning: (n) lament, lamentation,
inexperienced; (n) novice, beginner, eligibility, efficiency, skill. bereavement, gloom, woe, memorial,
fan, apprentice, aspirant, dabbler, ANTONYM: (n) incompetence. sorrowfulness, sadness, sorrow; (adj)
devotee, lover. ANTONYMS: (adj, n) coughing: (n) coughs, breathing out. grieving; (v) lamenting.
expert; (adj) practiced, trained; (n) don't: (adv) not; (n) taboo, prohibition. obstructed: (adj) blind, blocked,
genius, virtuoso, specialist, master; hammering: (n) beating, pounding, congested, impeded, impedite, foiled,
(adv) paid. pound, fagging, drudgery, needle tight, thwarted, stymied, frustrated,
bushes: (n) underbrush, thicket, hammer, defeat, knock, failure, impassable. ANTONYM: (adj)
undergrowth, minor league. British pound, Ezra Loomin Pound. unobstructed.
chairs: (n) seats. ANTONYM: (n) victory. theatricals: (n) Melpomene and Thalia,
competency: (n) competence, harder: (adj) serious. sock, Thespis, acting, dramaturgy,
capability, ability, fitness, jacob: (n) jack, James, Francois Jacob. buskin, cothurnus.