Chapter 4 of The Silence of Colonel Bramble is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Silence of Colonel Bramble is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor. "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you? I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit. He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him. I really believe I terrify him.
Chapter 4 of The Silence of Colonel Bramble is here in full — 445 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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 “agree” — be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading “"That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.”
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading “He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.”
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading “I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “"That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.”
temporarily incapable of speaking
From this reading “He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.”
fill with terror; frighten greatly
From this reading “I really believe I terrify him.”
care provided to improve a situation (especially medical procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury)
From this reading “"Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?”
move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading “He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.”
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.
In this reading “"That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.”
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 I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
third-person singular of “agree” — be in accord; be in agreement
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
for the reason that
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
plural of “begin” — Israeli statesman (born in Russia) who (as prime minister of Israel) negotiated a peace treaty with Anwar Sadat (then the president of Egypt) (1913-1992)
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading I really believe I terrify him.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
make calm or still
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
a commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines who ranks above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
a licensed medical practitioner
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
a health facility where patients receive treatment
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
easily agitated
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading I really believe I terrify him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
express in speech
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
temporarily incapable of speaking
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
an idea that is suggested
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
fill with terror; frighten greatly
From this reading I really believe I terrify him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
care provided to improve a situation (especially medical procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury)
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
From this reading He is so nervous that he begins to tremble and becomes perfectly speechless if I speak to him.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
hope for; have a wish
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Doctor," said the colonel, "you understand treatment by suggestion, don’t you?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I wish you would calm down your hospital sergeant a bit.
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading "That’s because my madness agrees with yours on that subject," said the doctor.
Chapter 4 of The Silence of Colonel Bramble by André Maurois holds 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 445 sentences of The Silence of Colonel Bramble, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Silence of Colonel Bramble by André Maurois exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 445 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 Silence of Colonel Bramble by André Maurois on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1804 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49870 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49870, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 150 minutes of reading across 361 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Silence of Colonel Bramble section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Silence of Colonel 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 The Silence of Colonel Bramble, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
