Chapter 1 of The City of Fire is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The City of Fire is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Softly he parted the foliage and peered. The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear. Billy could not quite see what it was. And now the man began to talk into the box. Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!
Chapter 1 of The City of Fire is here in full — 423 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 15/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 71–75
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 short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “Billy could not quite see what it was.”
past form of “duck” — to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading “Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!”
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading “Softly he parted the foliage and peered.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!”
having a margin incised almost to the base so as to create distinct divisions or lobes
From this reading “Softly he parted the foliage and peered.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Softly he parted the foliage and peered.”
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading “The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.”
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading “Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!”
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 man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading And now the man began to talk into the box.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
past form of “duck” — to move (the head or body) quickly downwards or away
From this reading Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!
the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
an expression of greeting
From this reading Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
the act of retaining something
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading And now the man began to talk into the box.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
past form of “listen” — hear with intention
From this reading Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading And now the man began to talk into the box.
having a margin incised almost to the base so as to create distinct divisions or lobes
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
having or caused by an irregular surface
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
a guided missile fired from land or shipboard against an airborne target
From this reading Billy ducked and listened: “Hello, Sam!
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
with low volume
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading And now the man began to talk into the box.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Softly he parted the foliage and peered.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Billy could not quite see what it was.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The man was down upon his knees before a rough box, holding something in his hand which he put to his ear.
Chapter 1 of The City of Fire by Grace Livingston Hill holds 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 423 sentences of The City of Fire, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The City of Fire by Grace Livingston Hill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 423 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 The City of Fire by Grace Livingston Hill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6645 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7008 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7008, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 553 minutes of reading across 1329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The City of Fire section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of The City of Fire 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 The City of Fire, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
