Chapter 4 of The Broken Thread is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Broken Thread is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Gilda winced. The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic. Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar. Thank God, the burglar died too." The doctor crooned rather than spoke.
Chapter 4 of The Broken Thread is here in full — 427 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
A person who commits illegal entry into a building with intent to steal valuable treasures.
From this reading “Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “Thank God, the burglar died too."”
possessive form of “doctor” — a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading “The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.”
in a serious manner
From this reading “The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.”
killed unlawfully
From this reading “Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.”
of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading “The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.”
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading “Thank God, the burglar died too."”
past form of “wince” — draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading “Gilda winced.”
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 Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
subject to laughter or ridicule
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
A person who commits illegal entry into a building with intent to steal valuable treasures.
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The doctor crooned rather than spoke.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Thank God, the burglar died too."
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading The doctor crooned rather than spoke.
possessive form of “doctor” — a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.
in a serious manner
From this reading The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gilda winced.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading Thank God, the burglar died too."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
killed unlawfully
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
on the contrary
From this reading The doctor crooned rather than spoke.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading The doctor crooned rather than spoke.
of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
From this reading The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The doctor crooned rather than spoke.
express gratitude or show appreciation to
From this reading Thank God, the burglar died too."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Thank God, the burglar died too."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The doctor's face was earnestly sympathetic.
past form of “wince” — draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading Gilda winced.
an affirmative
From this reading Raife replied: "Yes, he was murdered by some blackguard of a burglar.
Chapter 4 of The Broken Thread by William Le Queux holds 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 4 holds 427 sentences of The Broken Thread, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Broken Thread by William Le Queux exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 427 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 4 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 Broken Thread by William Le Queux on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4218 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41459 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41459, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 351 minutes of reading across 844 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Broken Thread section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Broken Thread 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 Broken Thread, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
