Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MARY. Here is a place, now I must rest awhile! For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began. JOSEPH. 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 29/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 141–145
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.
for a short time
From this reading “Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!”
(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance
From this reading “'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.”
plural of “joint” — (anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)
From this reading “'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “JOSEPH.”
an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members
From this reading “For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.”
not moving or operating freely
From this reading “'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.”
past form of “trudge” — walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
From this reading “For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.”
the application of wax to a surface
From this reading “'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.”
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 Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
for a short time
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
(used in the plural) a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone (usually held between the thumb and fingers) that are made to click together (as by Spanish dancers) in rhythm with the dance
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
terminate
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
plural of “joint” — (anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading JOSEPH.
an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading MARY.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Here is a place, now I must rest awhile!
from a time in the past until now
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
not moving or operating freely
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
past form of “trudge” — walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
the application of wax to a surface
From this reading 'Tis true, and I'm an old and ancient man, My joints are stiff, my bones are waxing old-- And the long night is bitter, bitter cold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading For many a league, for many a weary mile, We've trudged along since break of day began.
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare holds 355 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 355 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 355 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.
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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.
