Chapter 2 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
IN THE FIR-WOODS. ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'... KEATS. Supper was a formal and stately affair. The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
Chapter 2 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 212 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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.
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading “The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.”
being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
From this reading “Supper was a formal and stately affair.”
Englishman and romantic poet (1795-1821)
From this reading “KEATS.”
providing privacy or seclusion
From this reading “...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...”
(plural) something that reminds you of someone or something
From this reading “...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...”
impressive in appearance
From this reading “Supper was a formal and stately affair.”
plural of “stem” — (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
From this reading “...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...”
meant or adapted for an occasion or use
From this reading “The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.”
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.
In this reading “The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.”
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 Supper was a formal and stately affair.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Supper was a formal and stately affair.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Supper was a formal and stately affair.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
carefully weighed
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading IN THE FIR-WOODS.
being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress)
From this reading Supper was a formal and stately affair.
depressingly dark
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading IN THE FIR-WOODS.
Englishman and romantic poet (1795-1821)
From this reading KEATS.
found pleasant or attractive; often used as a combining form
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
and nothing more
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
providing privacy or seclusion
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
(plural) something that reminds you of someone or something
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
impressive in appearance
From this reading Supper was a formal and stately affair.
plural of “stem” — (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
meant or adapted for an occasion or use
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime
From this reading Supper was a formal and stately affair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading IN THE FIR-WOODS.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Supper was a formal and stately affair.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
an old word meaning “from where”
From this reading ...'Gloomy shades, sequestered deep, ....whence one could only see Stems thronging all around.'...
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading The children were placed one on each side of their cousin, and helped to such dishes as she considered suitable, without asking them what they liked.
Chapter 2 of Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth holds 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 212 sentences of Christmas-Tree Land, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 212 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 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.
