Chapter 18 of Bruno is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Bruno is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Again the mother is in the city home. No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air. All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away. She sits with book or needle. The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
Chapter 18 of Bruno is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
baby bed with high sides made of slats
From this reading “No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.”
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading “No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.”
plural of “garment” — an article of clothing
From this reading “No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.”
the leaf of a conifer
From this reading “She sits with book or needle.”
a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer
From this reading “All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.”
third-person singular of “sit” — be seated
From this reading “She sits with book or needle.”
plural of “slip” — a socially awkward or tactless act
From this reading “The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.”
take without the owner's consent
From this reading “The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
move outward
In this reading “No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.”
not act or do anything
In this reading “No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.”
In this reading “Again the mother is in the city home.”
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.
anew
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
(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 All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading She sits with book or needle.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
baby bed with high sides made of slats
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
an open recess in a wall at the base of a chimney where a fire can be built
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
plural of “garment” — an article of clothing
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
the leaf of a conifer
From this reading She sits with book or needle.
not any; not one
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading She sits with book or needle.
a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She sits with book or needle.
third-person singular of “sit” — be seated
From this reading She sits with book or needle.
plural of “slip” — a socially awkward or tactless act
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
take without the owner's consent
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Again the mother is in the city home.
very small
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No crib stands by the fireplace; no tiny garments are spread out to air.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She sits with book or needle.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading The book falls to her knee, the work slips to the floor; tears steal down her cheeks.
a late time of life
From this reading All is orderly as in the years that now seem so far away.
Chapter 18 of Bruno by Byrd Spilman Dewey holds 32 sentences, grouped into 7 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 18 holds 32 sentences of Bruno, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Bruno by Byrd Spilman Dewey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 32 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 18 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 Bruno by Byrd Spilman Dewey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1126 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41514 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41514, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 93 minutes of reading across 226 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bruno section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Bruno 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 Bruno, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
