Chapter 1 of The Brown Brethren is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Brown Brethren is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC. J. N. D. Strict on parade! When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady! Comin' the acid!
Chapter 1 of The Brown Brethren is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
harsh or corrosive in tone
From this reading “Comin' the acid!”
plural of “bloke” — a boy or man
From this reading “When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!”
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.”
a ceremonial procession including people marching
From this reading “Strict on parade!”
move with force
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.”
come into rough contact with while moving
From this reading “When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!”
make steady
From this reading “When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!”
rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard
From this reading “Strict on parade!”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
harsh or corrosive in tone
From this reading Comin' the acid!
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
plural of “bloke” — a boy or man
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Comin' the acid!
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading J. N. D.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
the line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading J. N. D.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues
From this reading J. N. D.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Strict on parade!
a ceremonial procession including people marching
From this reading Strict on parade!
move with force
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
come into rough contact with while moving
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
make steady
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard
From this reading Strict on parade!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE RED HORIZON," "THE GREAT PUSH," ETC.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
at the time that
From this reading When I'm on it I'm ready To shove blokes about if they do not keep steady!
Chapter 1 of The Brown Brethren by Patrick MacGill holds 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 224 sentences of The Brown Brethren, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Brown Brethren by Patrick MacGill exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Brown Brethren by Patrick MacGill on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4208 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54990 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #54990, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 350 minutes of reading across 842 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brown Brethren section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Brown Brethren 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 Brown Brethren, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
