Chapter 1 of Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
YOUNG PERSONS. BY MISS MANT. CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME. Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls. Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
Chapter 1 of Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated is here in full — 250 sentences across 50 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/50 · 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.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME.”
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading “Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.”
English nobleman who deposed Edward II and was executed by Edward III (1287-1330)
From this reading “Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.”
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading “Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.”
not often
From this reading “Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.”
troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
From this reading “Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.”
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 CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY MISS MANT.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
usually; as a rule
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY MISS MANT.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading BY MISS MANT.
English nobleman who deposed Edward II and was executed by Edward III (1287-1330)
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
in other respects or ways
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading YOUNG PERSONS.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
not often
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY TIME.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
precisely as stated
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Their kind papa and mamma had taken a great deal of pains that they should be good, and it was very seldom that they vexed them by being otherwise.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Harriet and Elizabeth Mortimer were two very pretty, and generally speaking, very good little girls.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading YOUNG PERSONS.
Chapter 1 of Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated by Alicia Catherine, -1869 Mant holds 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 1 holds 250 sentences of Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated, unabridged, divided into 50 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated by Alicia Catherine, -1869 Mant exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 250 sentences, grouped into 50 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 50 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
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Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in Christmas, A Happy Time A Tale, Calculated, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
