Chapter 2 of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SPANKETY MAN--You’ll spoil’em, Ma’am, spoil’em. Better patronize me. It’s necessary, I assure you. ALICE--No, indeed. DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
Chapter 2 of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
make certain of
From this reading “It’s necessary, I assure you.”
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading “ALICE--No, indeed.”
a woman of refinement
absolutely essential
From this reading “It’s necessary, I assure you.”
assume sponsorship of
From this reading “Better patronize me.”
deliver by singing
From this reading “DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.”
a short musical composition with words
From this reading “DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.”
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading “DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ALICE--No, indeed.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
make certain of
From this reading It’s necessary, I assure you.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Better patronize me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It’s necessary, I assure you.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading ALICE--No, indeed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It’s necessary, I assure you.
a woman of refinement
From this reading SPANKETY MAN--You’ll spoil’em, Ma’am, spoil’em.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading SPANKETY MAN--You’ll spoil’em, Ma’am, spoil’em.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Better patronize me.
absolutely essential
From this reading It’s necessary, I assure you.
not any; not one
From this reading ALICE--No, indeed.
assume sponsorship of
From this reading Better patronize me.
deliver by singing
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SPANKETY MAN--You’ll spoil’em, Ma’am, spoil’em.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SPANKETY MAN--You’ll spoil’em, Ma’am, spoil’em.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
an enlarged and muscular saclike organ of the alimentary canal; the principal organ of digestion
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading It’s necessary, I assure you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SPANKETY MAN--You’ll spoil’em, Ma’am, spoil’em.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading DERF--Tum, sing your song, and get to work.
Chapter 2 of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas by Elizabeth F. (Elizabeth Frances) Guptill holds 453 sentences, grouped into 91 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, 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 2 holds 453 sentences of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas by Elizabeth F. (Elizabeth Frances) Guptill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 2 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 A Topsy-Turvy Christmas by Elizabeth F. (Elizabeth Frances) Guptill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 945 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #59605 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #59605, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 78 minutes of reading across 189 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Topsy-Turvy Christmas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of A Topsy-Turvy Christmas 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 A Topsy-Turvy Christmas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
