Chapter 3 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?" The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore. Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled. Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells. YE SEXES, GIVE EAR!
Chapter 3 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories is here in full — 429 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 “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.”
plural of “guitar” — a stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or plucking
From this reading “Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.”
possessive form of “london” — the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading “Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.”
-ing form of “near” — move towards
From this reading “The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.”
plural of “sex” — activities associated with sexual intercourse
From this reading “YE SEXES, GIVE EAR!”
possessive form of “sun” — the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading “The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.”
past form of “tinkle” — make or emit a high sound
From this reading “Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.”
past form of “waft” — be driven or carried along, as by the air
From this reading “Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.”
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 sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.”
In this reading “The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.”
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 sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
(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 _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
plural of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
plural of “city” — a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
past form of “drift” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading YE SEXES, GIVE EAR!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
more distant in especially space or time
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
droplets of water vapor suspended in the air near the ground
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading YE SEXES, GIVE EAR!
coins made of gold
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
plural of “guitar” — a stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or plucking
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
a boy or man
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
possessive form of “london” — the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
-ing form of “near” — move towards
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
precisely, exactly
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
plural of “sex” — activities associated with sexual intercourse
From this reading YE SEXES, GIVE EAR!
the land along the edge of a body of water
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
possessive form of “sun” — the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading _London, thou art the flower of cities all!_ --Eh, lad?"
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
past form of “tinkle” — make or emit a high sound
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
having come into contact
From this reading The sun's gold, drifted through the fog, touched the side of a small row-boat nearing the farther shore.
plural of “voice” — the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
past form of “waft” — be driven or carried along, as by the air
From this reading Across the tide came wafted the voices of London's Christmas bells.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading YE SEXES, GIVE EAR!
but in spite of that
From this reading Behind, and to right and left along Bankside, a few guitars yet tinkled.
Chapter 3 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 429 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 3 holds 429 sentences of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Shakespeare's Christmas, and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 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 3 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.
