Chapter 1 of The Mistletoe Bough is here in full — 594 sentences across 119 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mistletoe Bough is here in full — 594 sentences across 119 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MISTLETOE BOUGH. “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons. “Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow. “It only means romping. To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
Chapter 1 of The Mistletoe Bough is here in full — 594 sentences across 119 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/118 · 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.
as the agent of or on someone's part (usually expressed as “on behalf of” rather than “in behalf of”)
From this reading ““Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.”
any of the larger branches of a tree
From this reading “THE MISTLETOE BOUGH.”
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading ““Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow.”
a fictitious detective in stories by A. Conan Doyle
From this reading “To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.””
informal terms for a mother
From this reading ““Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow.”
American plants closely resembling Old World mistletoe
From this reading “THE MISTLETOE BOUGH.”
(law) a statement in legal and logical form stating something on behalf of a party to a legal proceeding
From this reading ““Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.”
-ing form of “romp” — play boisterously
From this reading ““It only means romping.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
as the agent of or on someone's part (usually expressed as “on behalf of” rather than “in behalf of”)
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
any of the larger branches of a tree
From this reading THE MISTLETOE BOUGH.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
a female human offspring
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
offensive to the mind
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow.
daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)
From this reading “Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
a fictitious detective in stories by A. Conan Doyle
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading “It only means romping.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
American plants closely resembling Old World mistletoe
From this reading THE MISTLETOE BOUGH.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
and nothing more
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
(law) a statement in legal and logical form stating something on behalf of a party to a legal proceeding
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “Pray don’t, mamma,” said Elizabeth Garrow.
-ing form of “romp” — play boisterously
From this reading “It only means romping.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
plural of “son” — a male human offspring
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MISTLETOE BOUGH.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
a special situation
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading “Let the boys have it if they like it,” said Mrs. Garrow, pleading to her only daughter on behalf of her two sons.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading To me all that is detestable, and I am sure it is not the sort of thing that Miss Holmes would like.”
Chapter 1 of The Mistletoe Bough by Anthony Trollope holds 594 sentences, grouped into 119 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 594 sentences of The Mistletoe Bough, unabridged, divided into 119 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mistletoe Bough by Anthony Trollope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 594 sentences, grouped into 119 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 119 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 119 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 Mistletoe Bough by Anthony Trollope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 594 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3719 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3719, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 49 minutes of reading across 119 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mistletoe Bough section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Mistletoe Bough 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 Mistletoe Bough, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
