Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Swiss Family Robinson
The Swiss Family Robinson

Chapter IX

Chapter 9 The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

Chapter 09, section 1: The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come. No prisoners set at liberty could have felt mor
Context Illustration Reading 1/86 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.
No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.
Our plantations were thriving vigorously.
The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.
All nature was refreshed.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Swiss Family Robinson

Chapter IX

Reading 1/86 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.
Line 2
No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.
Line 3
Our plantations were thriving vigorously.
Line 4
The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.
Line 5
All nature was refreshed.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

winds noun US /wɪndz/

plural of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

From this reading “The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.”

Collocations
The windsA source-grounded phrase from this reading.
winds atA source-grounded phrase from this reading.
All words in this reading · 72

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

abode

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

air

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

All

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All nature was refreshed.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

aroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

balmy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

birds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

brilliant

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

ceased

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

clouds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

comenounUS /come/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

couldmodal verbUS /kʊd/

the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

drank

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

ears

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

earth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.

eyes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

fall

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

felt

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

forth

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

happy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

joy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

lengthnounUS /leŋθ/

a period of time or extent

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

libertynounUS /ˈlɪb.ər.ti/

The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions on one's way of life.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

lulled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

merry

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

moist

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.

more

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

nature

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All nature was refreshed.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

ourdeterminerUS /ˈaʊər/

belonging to the speaker and others

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

plantations

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Our plantations were thriving vigorously.

pleasantnounUS /pleasant/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

prisoners

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

pure

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

rain

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

rays

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

refreshed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

riven

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

seed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.

set

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

shootingnounUS /ˈshooting/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.

shot

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

songs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

sown

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.

spring

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

stepped

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

sun

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

thousand

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

thriving

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Our plantations were thriving vigorously.

throughnounUS /ˈthrough/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

uspronounUS /ʌs/

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

verdure

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

vigorously

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Our plantations were thriving vigorously.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading The seed we had sown was shooting through the moist earth.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

windsnounUS /wɪndz/

plural of “wind” — air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

From this reading The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come.

winter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading No prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure balmy air of spring.

Chapter Quiz

What is the central narrative or theme conveyed in this section of Chapter 09?

Which core linguistic virtue or character attribute is emphasized in this passage?

According to the text: "Chapter 9...", what tone does the author establish?

Shadowing Practice

Narrator: Chapter 9
Narrator: Therefore I should like to carry