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.
Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be. _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL. Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn. We'd seek its cheer. DEBORAH (_rises_).
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 22/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 106–110
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.
The middle point or core of an area.
From this reading “_Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.”
praise vociferously
From this reading “Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.”
a woman host
From this reading “_Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.”
temporary living quarters
From this reading “Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.”
third-person singular of “portend” — indicate, as with a sign or an omen
From this reading “Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.”
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading “_Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.”
plural of “rise” — a growth in strength or number or importance
concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul
From this reading “Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.”
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.
speak to
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
The middle point or core of an area.
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
give encouragement to
From this reading We'd seek its cheer.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DEBORAH (_rises_).
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
to come or go into
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
praise vociferously
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
an old form of “has”
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
a woman host
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading We'd seek its cheer.
temporary living quarters
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
third-person singular of “portend” — indicate, as with a sign or an omen
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
(Old Testament) the second wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
precisely, exactly
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
plural of “rise” — a growth in strength or number or importance
From this reading DEBORAH (_rises_).
try to get or reach
From this reading We'd seek its cheer.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading _Enter_ RACHEL _and_ PRISCILLA _from rear right, then come down center and address the hostess._ RACHEL.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Some strange, unearthly voice seems calling me, Methinks this night portends great things to be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We'd seek its cheer.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Hail, hostess of the inn, my cousin here Hath lodgings at your inn.
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.
