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.
They'll get there about eight o'clock. Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more. Now it's up to you to look after details. Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late. I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
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 20/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 96–100
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.
any person at all
From this reading “Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.”
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading “Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.”
true confidential information
From this reading “Now it's up to you to look after details.”
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading “Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.”
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading “I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.”
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading “Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.”
by chance
From this reading “Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.”
according to the clock
From this reading “They'll get there about eight o'clock.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading They'll get there about eight o'clock.
later than; following
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
any person at all
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
any thing at all
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
true confidential information
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
being one more than seven
From this reading They'll get there about eight o'clock.
a quad with a square body
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading They'll get there about eight o'clock.
plural of “get” — a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
an informal term for a youth or man
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
by chance
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
according to the clock
From this reading They'll get there about eight o'clock.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
in or at that place or location
From this reading They'll get there about eight o'clock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They'll get there about eight o'clock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
up to a particular time
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Beat him to it by an hour anyway, maybe more.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading Get anyone you want to help till Shorty and Link get there, and pay 'em so in case anything gets them, or they're late.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading I'll keep you wise from time to time how the guy gets on.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Now it's up to you to look after details.
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.
