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.
My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do. Perhaps some other inn will shelter you. JOSEPH. Alas, the other inns are all the same! DEBORAH.
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 35/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 171–175
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.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading “Alas, the other inns are all the same!”
for this reason
From this reading “My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.”
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.”
plural of “inn” — a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “Alas, the other inns are all the same!”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “JOSEPH.”
a quantity of no importance
From this reading “My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.”
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading “Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.”
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 to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
(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 Alas, the other inns are all the same!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DEBORAH.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
for this reason
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.
plural of “inn” — a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading JOSEPH.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
a quantity of no importance
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.
by chance
From this reading Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
cause to go somewhere
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
From this reading Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Perhaps some other inn will shelter you.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading My heart is sad and it is not my will To send you hence, but naught is left to do.
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.
