Chapter 1 of Cornelli is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Cornelli is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Everything, then, is lost!” Agnes was frightfully excited. Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning. “But, child, you must not speak this way. Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
Chapter 1 of Cornelli is here in full — 297 sentences across 60 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 24/59 · 5 reading units · Lines 116–120
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.
past form of “admonish” — advise or counsel in terms of someone's behavior
From this reading “Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.”
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading “Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.”
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading “Agnes was frightfully excited.”
plural of “flash” — a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
From this reading “Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.”
used as intensifiers
From this reading “Agnes was frightfully excited.”
abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
From this reading “Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.”
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.”
used as intensifiers
From this reading “Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.”
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.
past form of “admonish” — advise or counsel in terms of someone's behavior
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Agnes was frightfully excited.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
with self-possession (especially in times of stress)
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
a young person of either sex
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Everything, then, is lost!”
(of persons) excessively affected by emotion
From this reading Agnes was frightfully excited.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
plural of “flash” — a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
used as intensifiers
From this reading Agnes was frightfully excited.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Everything, then, is lost!”
abrupt electric discharge from cloud to cloud or from cloud to earth accompanied by the emission of light
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Everything, then, is lost!”
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
express in speech
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
used as intensifiers
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Do not get so terribly excited,” the mother calmly admonished her.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Everything, then, is lost!”
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Agnes was frightfully excited.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her cheeks were dark red and her eyes seemed to shoot forth flashes of lightning.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “But, child, you must not speak this way.
Chapter 1 of Cornelli by Johanna Spyri holds 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 297 sentences of Cornelli, unabridged, divided into 60 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Cornelli by Johanna Spyri exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 297 sentences, grouped into 60 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 60 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 60 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 Cornelli by Johanna Spyri on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3176 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6380 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6380, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 264 minutes of reading across 636 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cornelli section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Cornelli 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 Cornelli, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
