Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
(_Exit_ PROLOGUE.) (_Soft chimes. As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY. O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away. (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 14/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 66–70
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 town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel production
From this reading “(_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.”
plural of “chime” — a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned bells that are struck with a hammer; used as an orchestral instrument
From this reading “(_Soft chimes.”
a chorus that sings as part of a religious ceremony
From this reading “As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.”
not accessible to view
From this reading “As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.”
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading “(_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.”
an opening that permits escape or release
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
From this reading “O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.”
an introduction to a play
From this reading “(_Exit_ PROLOGUE.)”
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 As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
a town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel production
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
plural of “chime” — a percussion instrument consisting of a set of tuned bells that are struck with a hammer; used as an orchestral instrument
From this reading (_Soft chimes.
a chorus that sings as part of a religious ceremony
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
not accessible to view
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
plural of “curtain” — hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
the property created by the space between two objects or points
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading (_Exit_ PROLOGUE.)
refrain from doing
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
an introduction to a play
From this reading (_Exit_ PROLOGUE.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
the display of a motion picture
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading (_Soft chimes.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading As these chimes die away in the distance a concealed choir is heard singing._) O COME, COME, AWAY.
during the time that
From this reading O come, come away From labor now reposing, Let busy care a while forbear; O come, come away.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading (_The front curtains are drawn, showing a winter street in Bethlehem.
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare holds 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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 353 sentences of The White Christmas and other Merry, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4783 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19826 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19826, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 398 minutes of reading across 957 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Christmas and other Merry section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The White Christmas and other Merry 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 White Christmas and other Merry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
