Chapter 2 of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Inside!" These men use few words. The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first. "Why, you dear Major!" he cried. "You are certainly a good Sama'itan.
Chapter 2 of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance is here in full — 413 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 small stone room in a prison where an inmate is locked behind iron bars.
From this reading “The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading “"You are certainly a good Sama'itan.”
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading “The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.”
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “"Why, you dear Major!" he cried.”
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading “The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.”
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading “"Inside!"”
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading “"Why, you dear Major!" he cried.”
the act of using
From this reading “These men use few words.”
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 "You are certainly a good Sama'itan.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "You are certainly a good Sama'itan.
A small stone room in a prison where an inmate is locked behind iron bars.
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "You are certainly a good Sama'itan.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Why, you dear Major!" he cried.
dearly loved
From this reading "Why, you dear Major!" he cried.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading These men use few words.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
a state of partial or total darkness
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "You are certainly a good Sama'itan.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Why, you dear Major!" he cried.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading "Inside!"
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading "Why, you dear Major!" he cried.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
the force of workers available
From this reading These men use few words.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You are certainly a good Sama'itan.
cut with a saw
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Colonel from the gloom of the cell saw me first.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These men use few words.
the act of using
From this reading These men use few words.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why, you dear Major!" he cried.
the words that are spoken
From this reading These men use few words.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Why, you dear Major!" he cried.
Chapter 2 of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance by Francis Hopkinson Smith holds 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 413 sentences of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance by Francis Hopkinson Smith exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 413 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance by Francis Hopkinson Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2861 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27741 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27741, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 238 minutes of reading across 573 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance 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 Colonel Carter's Christmas and The Romance, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
