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.
That's something he's got to work out himself. If he isn't big enough to get over his pride. His self-consciousness. His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!” The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
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 64/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 316–320
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.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.”
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading “His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!””
very far away in space or time
From this reading “The man sighed with a faraway patient look.”
a person who requires medical care
From this reading “The man sighed with a faraway patient look.”
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading “If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.”
embarrassment deriving from the feeling that others are critically aware of you
From this reading “His self-consciousness.”
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “The man sighed with a faraway patient look.”
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading “His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!””
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 sighed with a faraway patient look.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!”
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
very far away in space or time
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!”
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
above and across; more than
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
a person who requires medical care
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
From this reading If he isn't big enough to get over his pride.
embarrassment deriving from the feeling that others are critically aware of you
From this reading His self-consciousness.
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading His--whatever he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't _big_ enough--!”
in the company of; together with
From this reading The man sighed with a faraway patient look.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading That's something he's got to work out himself.
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.
