Chapter 12 of The country Christmas is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The country Christmas is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MRS. MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head. "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree. Poor man! To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
Chapter 12 of The country Christmas is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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 large and stately mansion
From this reading “MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.”
your parents
From this reading “To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.”
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading “"I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.”
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading “To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.”
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading “MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.”
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading “"I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.”
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading “MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Poor man!”
In this reading “"I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.”
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.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
Having no one else present.
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
a large and stately mansion
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
your parents
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Poor man!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
not caught with the senses or the mind
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading MRS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Poor man!
cut with a saw
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading To think how he's missed his folks and him so good.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
at the time that
From this reading MULVANEY'S AIR CASTLE When Mrs. Mulvaney saw the Christmas tree she shook her head.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm glad you're with me, Chinky," she began, "I'd hate to be here alone, and what's more, I hate to touch that tree.
Chapter 12 of The country Christmas by Frances Margaret Fox holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 12 holds 77 sentences of The country Christmas, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The country Christmas by Frances Margaret Fox exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 12 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 country Christmas by Frances Margaret Fox on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1303 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #69068 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #69068, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 108 minutes of reading across 261 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The country Christmas section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The country Christmas 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 country Christmas, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
