Chapter 1 of Lorelei is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Lorelei is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once! Seven days stranded on Europa. Seven days without hope. The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away. All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
Chapter 1 of Lorelei is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
being in a state of proper equilibrium
From this reading “All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.”
the 4th largest of Jupiter's satellites; covered with a smooth shell of frozen water
From this reading “Seven days stranded on Europa.”
having a sharply uneven surface or outline
From this reading “All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.”
partial or total lack of sensation in a part of the body; a symptom of nerve damage or dysfunction
From this reading “The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.”
coming next after the sixth and just before the eighth in position
From this reading “All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.”
cut off or left behind
From this reading “Seven days stranded on Europa.”
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading “The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.”
a person loved by another person
From this reading “She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!”
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 “All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.”
In this reading “All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.”
leave furtively and stealthily
In this reading “The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.”
In this reading “Seven days stranded on Europa.”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!”
In this reading “Seven days without hope.”
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 The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
later than; following
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
being in a state of proper equilibrium
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
exhale hard
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Seven days stranded on Europa.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
the 4th largest of Jupiter's satellites; covered with a smooth shell of frozen water
From this reading Seven days stranded on Europa.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
bringing death
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Seven days without hope.
having a sharply uneven surface or outline
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
an uneasy psychological state
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
partial or total lack of sensation in a part of the body; a symptom of nerve damage or dysfunction
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Seven days stranded on Europa.
on one occasion
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading Seven days stranded on Europa.
coming next after the sixth and just before the eighth in position
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
move stealthily
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
cut off or left behind
From this reading Seven days stranded on Europa.
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
a person loved by another person
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading All that seventh day my nerves balanced on a thin jagged edge.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The courage that had sustained me, like the numbness after a fatal blow, was beginning to slip away.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was everybody's sweetheart--but not every man's at once!
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Seven days without hope.
Chapter 1 of Lorelei by Charles V. De Vet holds 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 284 sentences of Lorelei, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Lorelei by Charles V. De Vet exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 Lorelei by Charles V. De Vet on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 284 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #61050 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #61050, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 23 minutes of reading across 57 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Lorelei section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Lorelei 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 Lorelei, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
