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.
“Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right. Father just dotes on him. Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there. I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?” “Where's he goin' to?
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 25/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 121–125
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.
everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities
From this reading “Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.”
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading ““Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.”
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading “Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.”
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?””
plural of “million” — the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading “Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.”
marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
From this reading “I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?””
a full supply
From this reading “Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.”
act as a barrier between; stand between
From this reading ““Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.”
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 Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Father just dotes on him.
everything you own; all of your assets (whether real property or personal property) and liabilities
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Father just dotes on him.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Where's he goin' to?
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Where's he goin' to?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Father just dotes on him.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
and nothing more
From this reading Father just dotes on him.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
plural of “million” — the number that is represented as a one followed by 6 zeros
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Father just dotes on him.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
a full supply
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
precisely, exactly
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
act as a barrier between; stand between
From this reading “Mother living, got separate fortune in her own right.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading Uncle has a big estate on Long Island, plenty more millions there.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Where's he goin' to?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I think a million is real modest in us to ask, don't you?”
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.
