Chapter 1 of General Bramble is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of General Bramble is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler. The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara. "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?" Aurelle, the interpreter, asked him. "What did you say?" said the dragoon.
Chapter 1 of General Bramble is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “"As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.”
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading “The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.”
someone who mediates between speakers of different languages
From this reading “Aurelle, the interpreter, asked him.”
a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
From this reading “The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.”
an artist who paints
From this reading “"Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"”
third-person singular of “represent” — take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to
From this reading “"As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.”
the dialect of English used in Scotland
From this reading “The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.”
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading “"As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.”
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.
be contingent on
In this reading “"As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “"As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.”
In this reading “"Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Aurelle, the interpreter, asked him.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aurelle, the interpreter, asked him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading "What did you say?" said the dragoon.
an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
compel by coercion, threats, or crude means
From this reading "What did you say?" said the dragoon.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Aurelle, the interpreter, asked him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
someone who mediates between speakers of different languages
From this reading Aurelle, the interpreter, asked him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
an artist who paints
From this reading "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"
a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together
From this reading "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"
third-person singular of “represent” — take the place of or be parallel or equivalent to
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "What did you say?" said the dragoon.
express in words
From this reading "What did you say?" said the dragoon.
the dialect of English used in Scotland
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
United States painter (1834-1903)
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
which person or people
From this reading "As to what the picture represents, that depends upon who looks at it."--Whistler.
belonging to which person
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading The French Mission in its profound wisdom had sent as liaison officer to the Scottish Division a captain of Dragoons whose name was Beltara.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Are you any relation to the painter, sir?"
Chapter 1 of General Bramble by André Maurois holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 134 sentences of General Bramble, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of General Bramble by André Maurois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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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Yes. All 1495 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30596 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30596, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 124 minutes of reading across 299 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through General Bramble section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of General Bramble 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 General Bramble, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
