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.
Got a bet on to get there by sunrise.... Can't miss him!” Billy lay there puzzled. It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway? Then the man spoke.
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 18/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 86–90
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.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?”
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading “Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....”
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “Billy lay there puzzled.”
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading “It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?”
filled with bewilderment
From this reading “Billy lay there puzzled.”
quiet, dark, or concealed
From this reading “It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?”
the first light of day
From this reading “Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....”
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 Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading Billy lay there puzzled.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can't miss him!”
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Can't miss him!”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Billy lay there puzzled.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Then the man spoke.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Can't miss him!”
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
filled with bewilderment
From this reading Billy lay there puzzled.
quiet, dark, or concealed
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading Then the man spoke.
the first light of day
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then the man spoke.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Got a bet on to get there by sunrise....
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading It sounded shady, but what was the line anyway?
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.
