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.
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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.
Alas, the other inns are all the same! DEBORAH. Never was seen the like in Bethlehem. (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din! (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
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 36/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 176–180
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!”
a town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel production
From this reading “Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.”
a loud harsh or strident noise
From this reading “(_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!”
plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading “(_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!”
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “(_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.”
plural of “inn” — a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “Alas, the other inns are all the same!”
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading “(_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!”
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading “(_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!”
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 (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
a town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel production
From this reading Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DEBORAH.
a loud harsh or strident noise
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
plural of “inn” — a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
the sound of laughing
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.
not any; not one
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Alas, the other inns are all the same!
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.
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!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading (_Laughter and noise at R._) My guests are merry, hear their jovial din!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Never was seen the like in Bethlehem.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading (_Goes to R._) I pity you, there's no room at the inn.
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.
