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.
(ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.) ISAAC. Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing! SIMEON. But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
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 67/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 331–335
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.
a former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading “(ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)”
plural of “gift” — something acquired without compensation
From this reading “But first get gifts to take the new-born King!”
(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.”
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “(ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)”
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading “(ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)”
(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
From this reading “SIMEON.”
resistant to change of position or condition
From this reading “(ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)”
grass with long cylindrical spikes grown in northern United States and Europe for hay
From this reading “(ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)”
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 (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
a former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
at or toward the back of something
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
plural of “gift” — something acquired without compensation
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
(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.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
From this reading SIMEON.
resistant to change of position or condition
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
carry out
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
a special situation
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
grass with long cylindrical spikes grown in northern United States and Europe for hay
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But first get gifts to take the new-born King!
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come, gran'ther, let us go and see this thing!
in the company of; together with
From this reading (ANNA _goes out at rear, behind the stable, with_ TIMOTHY, RUTH _and_ THOMAS.)
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.
