The Doll by Bolesław Prus – Volume I, Chapter 6 | B2 English Audiobook with Text 🎧

🎧 Practise this chapter interactively – speaking, shadowing and vocabulary exercises – in our free web app: 👉 https://zagrosze.com/english Episode 6 of "The Doll" (Lalka), the great Polish novel by Bolesław Prus (1890), retold in natural B2 (Upper-Intermediate) English. Listen, read the text on screen and follow the red line under every word. 📖 Volume I, Chapter 6: "How New People Appear Over the Old Horizons" On a grey April afternoon Miss Izabela sits bored in her boudoir, worrying about her spring outfit while her dinner service and silver are about to be sold. Her cousin Miss Florentyna reads her a letter in which Countess Karolowa offers a loan of three thousand roubles on the silver, and Izabela feels humiliated. Her father, Mr Tomasz Łęcki, then announces proudly that a merchant called Wokulski, "a man of iron", will help him found a company, and at dinner he adds that he plays piquet with Wokulski and wins. That evening Izabela dreams of a red-handed man holding a card in a lake of smoke, and then learns from Florentyna that Wokulski has bought her silver. She decides that he is trying to get close to her and that he is a dangerous conqueror. Will she find a way to escape the merchant she fears? ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 A grey April afternoon 2:12 The silver is to be sold 3:59 Countess Karolowa's letter 6:44 Florentyna's view of the letter 11:18 Papa's plan with Wokulski 15:07 Izabela's story of the shop 16:12 Dinner talk about Wokulski 17:59 A second letter arrives 20:19 Piquet and a sudden headache 21:57 Alone in the dusk 25:35 The dream of the smoky man 29:43 Wokulski has bought the silver 33:25 She thinks he wants her 🔑 Key Vocabulary (B2) • boudoir – a lady's private sitting room • embroidery – pictures or patterns sewn on cloth • jeweller – a person who makes or sells jewels and silver • keepsake – a small object kept to remember someone • loan – money that you borrow and must pay back • security – something valuable given to guarantee a loan • orphanage – a home for children without parents • creditor – a person to whom you owe money • humiliation – a feeling of shame • partnership – a business shared by two or more people • piquet – a card game for two players • speculator – a person who takes big risks to make money • swindler – a person who cheats others of money • boor – a rude person with bad manners • courteous – polite and respectful • gladiator – a fighter in ancient Rome • penance – a punishment accepted to show regret • conqueror – a person who wins by force • impertinent – rude and without respect • intuition – a feeling that something is true without proof • masquerade – a party with masks; also false behaviour • grovel – to behave in a very humble way • abyss – a very deep hole or a hopeless situation • tailcoat – a man's formal jacket with a long back 💬 Useful phrases • "A tree stump with red hands" – Miss Izabela • "Wokulski is incomparable!" – Mr Łęcki • "What a humiliation!" – Miss Izabela • "He who has strength in his hands has the world at his feet." – Mr Łęcki • "They are terrible people." – Miss Izabela 🚀 How to learn with this episode 1. Watch once and just enjoy the story. 2. Watch again and read along – notice the passive (would be sold, have already been bought, had been lit) 3. Stop after a sentence and repeat it aloud (shadowing). 4. Do the exercises for this chapter at https://zagrosze.com/english 📚 About the series • Book: The Doll (Lalka) by Bolesław Prus, 1890 – a Polish classic (public domain) • This episode: Volume I, Chapter 6 (B2) – watch the chapters in order in our playlist! • Level: CEFR B2 (Upper-Intermediate) – natural English, richer vocabulary • Narration: AI-generated voice (Kokoro TTS) chosen for clear pronunciation; text adapted for learners 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss Chapter 7 – make English part of your daily routine! #LearnEnglish #EnglishAudiobook #B2English #GradedReader #LearnEnglishThroughStories #EnglishListening #Shadowing #TheDoll #BolesławPrus