Chapter 1 of Polly: A Christmas Recollection is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Polly: A Christmas Recollection is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARSE CHAN. A Tale of Old Virginia. Illustrated by W. T. Smedley. MEH LADY. A Story of the War.
Chapter 1 of Polly: A Christmas Recollection is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading “Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.”
a polite name for any woman
From this reading “MEH LADY.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “A Tale of Old Virginia.”
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 “A Story of the War.”
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 “A Tale of Old Virginia.”
a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
From this reading “A Tale of Old Virginia.”
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “A Story of the War.”
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 “Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.”
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 A Tale of Old Virginia.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARSE CHAN.
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading MEH LADY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARSE CHAN.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MEH LADY.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Tale of Old Virginia.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading A Tale of Old Virginia.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.
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 A Story of the War.
a base found in DNA (but not in RNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.
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 A Tale of Old Virginia.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A Story of the War.
a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
From this reading A Tale of Old Virginia.
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading Illustrated by W. T. Smedley.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading A Story of the War.
Chapter 1 of Polly: A Christmas Recollection by Thomas Nelson Page holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 427 sentences of Polly: A Christmas Recollection, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Polly: A Christmas Recollection by Thomas Nelson Page exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Polly: A Christmas Recollection by Thomas Nelson Page on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 427 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44547 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44547, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 35 minutes of reading across 86 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Polly: A Christmas Recollection section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Polly: A Christmas Recollection 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 Polly: A Christmas Recollection, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
