Chapter 1 of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story is here in full — 562 sentences across 113 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story is here in full — 562 sentences across 113 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Hope is very cheap. There's always plenty of it about." "Fortunately for poor men. Good morning." With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
Chapter 1 of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story is here in full — 562 sentences across 113 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/112 · 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.
United States general in the American Civil War who was defeated by Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Fredericksburg (1824-1881)
From this reading “With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.”
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading “"Hope is very cheap.”
applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military
From this reading “With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.”
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading “With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.”
by good fortune
From this reading “"Fortunately for poor men.”
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading “With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.”
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading “With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.”
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
From this reading “With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.”
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 With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There's always plenty of it about."
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading There's always plenty of it about."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
United States general in the American Civil War who was defeated by Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Fredericksburg (1824-1881)
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
relatively low in price or charging low prices
From this reading "Hope is very cheap.
applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Fortunately for poor men.
inflected form of “forget” — dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
by good fortune
From this reading "Fortunately for poor men.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Good morning."
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading "Hope is very cheap.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Hope is very cheap.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There's always plenty of it about."
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
the force of workers available
From this reading "Fortunately for poor men.
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Good morning."
the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
a form of address for a man
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There's always plenty of it about."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
a full supply
From this reading There's always plenty of it about."
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading "Fortunately for poor men.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
an act of honor or courteous recognition
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
move or cause to move back and forth
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's always plenty of it about."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
in the direction of
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
precisely as stated
From this reading "Hope is very cheap.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With this mild retort and civil salutation John Henry Overholt rose and went towards the door, quite forgetting to shake hands with Mr. Burnside, though the latter made a motion to do so.
Chapter 1 of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford holds 562 sentences, grouped into 113 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 562 sentences of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story, unabridged, divided into 113 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 562 sentences, grouped into 113 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 113 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 113 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 Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story by F. Marion (Francis Marion) Crawford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1107 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14526 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14526, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 92 minutes of reading across 222 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story 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 Little City of Hope: A Christmas Story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
