Chapter 1 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE WHITE CASTLE. 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.' MISS FERRIER. It was not their home. That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
Chapter 1 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading “That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.”
a large and stately mansion
From this reading “THE WHITE CASTLE.”
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading “That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.”
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading “That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.”
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading “That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.”
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading “'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'”
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading “That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.”
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.
a story about fairies; told to amuse children
In this reading “'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'”
In this reading “That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.”
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 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading THE WHITE CASTLE.
a state in which you want to learn more about something
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MISS FERRIER.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading It was not their home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was not their home.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading MISS FERRIER.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not their home.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE WHITE CASTLE.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading It was not their home.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
the act of going from one place to another
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading That was easy to be seen by the eager looks of curiosity and surprise on the two little faces inside the heavy travelling carriage.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading 'The way was long, long, long, like the journey in a fairy tale.'
a Caucasian
From this reading THE WHITE CASTLE.
Chapter 1 of Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth holds 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 228 sentences of Christmas-Tree Land, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 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.
Common questions about reading Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2760 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39375 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39375, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 230 minutes of reading across 552 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas-Tree Land section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Christmas-Tree Land 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 Christmas-Tree Land, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
