Chapter 9 of General Bramble is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of General Bramble is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll. A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent. "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again." "Yo-ho! Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.
Chapter 9 of General Bramble is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
plural of “cabbage” — any of various types of cabbage
From this reading “PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.”
made invisible by means of protective coloring
From this reading “A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.”
English author; Charles Dodgson was an Oxford don of mathematics who is remembered for the children's stories he wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
From this reading “PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.”
move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading “A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.”
an expression of greeting
From this reading “Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.”
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading “PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.”
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
From this reading “PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.”
a party of people assembled in the evening (usually at a private house)
From this reading “PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.”
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.
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 PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
anew
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
past form of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
plural of “cabbage” — any of various types of cabbage
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
made invisible by means of protective coloring
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
English author; Charles Dodgson was an Oxford don of mathematics who is remembered for the children's stories he wrote under the pen name Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.
at any time
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
applying to all or most members of a category or group
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
an expression of greeting
From this reading Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.
plural of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
in a vehement outcry
From this reading Hello--o!" shouted the Infant Dundas.
a party of people assembled in the evening (usually at a private house)
From this reading PRELUDE A LA SOIREE D'UN GENERAL "... of cabbages and kings."--Lewis Carroll.
a portable shelter (usually of canvas stretched over supporting poles and fastened to the ground with ropes and pegs)
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading A blue forage-cap appeared under the flap of the camouflaged tent.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Yo-ho!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Messiou," cried the general, "we were beginning to despair of ever seeing you again."
Chapter 9 of General Bramble by André Maurois holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 9 holds 79 sentences of General Bramble, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of General Bramble by André Maurois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 9 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 General Bramble by André Maurois on this page, its source edition and its audio.
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.
