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.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
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.
Listen! Is it the winter sky that sings? ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_). Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught. You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
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 53/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 261–265
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.
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading “ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).”
(Old Testament) the second patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah who was offered by Abraham as a sacrifice to God; father of Jacob and Esau
From this reading “ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).”
a quantity of no importance
From this reading “Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught.”
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).”
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
From this reading “Is it the winter sky that sings?”
the present time or age
From this reading “You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.”
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading “You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.”
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 join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).
The middle point or core of an area.
From this reading ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught.
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
From this reading ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
(Old Testament) the second patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah who was offered by Abraham as a sacrifice to God; father of Jacob and Esau
From this reading ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
hear with intention
From this reading Listen!
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
a quantity of no importance
From this reading Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught.
an old word for “no”
From this reading Nay, gran'ther, I heard naught.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
the present time or age
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading Is it the winter sky that sings?
in the company of; together with
From this reading ISAAC (_with the group at rear center_).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You're old and gray And weary with the miles you've walked today.
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.
