Chapter 2 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I hear music o' sorts. No Christmas carols, I warrant." "Aught else?" "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder." "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
Chapter 2 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 quantity of no importance
From this reading “"Aught else?"”
-ing form of “bay” — utter in deep prolonged tones
From this reading “"Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."”
plural of “carol” — joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading “No Christmas carols, I warrant."”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “No Christmas carols, I warrant."”
plural of “kennel” — outbuilding that serves as a shelter for a dog
From this reading “"Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.”
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “"I hear music o' sorts.”
a writ from a court commanding police to perform specified acts
From this reading “No Christmas carols, I warrant."”
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading “"Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."”
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 “"Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.”
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 "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
anew
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
a quantity of no importance
From this reading "Aught else?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
-ing form of “bay” — utter in deep prolonged tones
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
plural of “carol” — joyful religious song celebrating the birth of Christ
From this reading No Christmas carols, I warrant."
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading No Christmas carols, I warrant."
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
plural of “dog” — a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aught else?"
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "I hear music o' sorts.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I hear music o' sorts.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
plural of “kennel” — outbuilding that serves as a shelter for a dog
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
From this reading "I hear music o' sorts.
not any; not one
From this reading No Christmas carols, I warrant."
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "I hear music o' sorts.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
above and across; more than
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
precisely, exactly
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "I hear music o' sorts.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Right again: it comes from the kennels by the Bear-Pit.
a writ from a court commanding police to perform specified acts
From this reading No Christmas carols, I warrant."
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading "Ay: a sound like a noise of dogs baying over yonder."
Chapter 2 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 420 sentences of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3859 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54274 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54274, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 321 minutes of reading across 772 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories 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 Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
