Adventure · Science fiction

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules Verne, 1864 · first published in French

A hot-headed professor, his reluctant nephew and a silent guide climb down an Icelandic volcano toward the heart of the planet.

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Five levels, about 80 languages

  1. A2ElementaryShort sentences and everyday words.First edition written
  2. B1IntermediateYou follow clear stories about familiar things.First edition written
  3. B2Upper intermediateLonger sentences, richer vocabulary.
  4. C1AdvancedClose to the original, lightly condensed.
  5. C2ProficientThe complete novel.

One purchase is one book, in one language, at one level: $4.99. Another level of a book you own is $1.99. Editions nobody has asked for yet are written on request: chapter 1 in a few minutes, the rest while you read. How the levels work.

IRead the first pages

Chapter 1, as Lexo prints it.

The real opening of Journey to the Center of the Earth in Albanian (A2) and Albanian (B1). Tap any word for its meaning in the sentence, or press play to hear it read.

Edition

Device

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  • Change the theme in Aa

Udhëtim në qendër të Tokës

Profesori i paduruar

Një të diel pasdite të vitit 1863, xhaxhai u kthye herët. Ne jetonim në Hamburg, pranë një kanali të ngushtë. Marta, shërbyesja jonë, ngriti kokën në kuzhinë.

«Zoti Lidenbrok erdhi që tani! Por dreka nuk është gati!» «Është ende herët, Marta», thashë unë. «Atëherë duhet t’ia shpjegosh ti, Aksel!»

Por unë kisha frikë nga zëri i tij i zemëruar. Ai kaloi me nxitim nëpër dhomën e ngrënies. E hodhi kapelën mbi tryezë. «Aksel! Eja pas meje në kabinet!»

Xhaxhai im, profesor Oto Lidenbrok, studionte shkëmbinjtë dhe mineralet. Ai njihte ngjyrën, peshën dhe erën e tyre. Shkencëtarë të njohur vinin tek ai me pyetje.

Ndonjëherë, gjatë mësimit, ai ndalej te fjalët e gjata. E kishte të vështirë t’i thoshte dhe zemërohej. Por lëndën e tij e njihte shumë mirë.

Profesori i paduruar

Chapter 1 of 45

Book page. Use the left and right arrow keys to move from word to word, Enter to look up a word, Page Up and Page Down to turn pages, and the space bar to listen or pause.

About the book

Down through Iceland

In Hamburg, Professor Otto Lidenbrock deciphers a scrap of parchment written in runes and hidden in an old book. Its author, the Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm, claims to have reached the center of the earth through the crater of Snaefellsjökull. The professor packs at once. His nephew Axel, who tells the story and would much rather stay at home with Gräuben, the girl he loves, is given no choice. In Iceland they hire Hans, a calm eider-down hunter who says almost nothing and is never surprised. Jules Verne published the novel in 1864, and its world of tunnels, underground seas and giant mushrooms still feels strange and fresh.

Why learners do well with it

Axel is frightened most of the time, and he says so. That makes the book unusually easy to follow: feelings are named, reasons are given, and the professor’s temper and Axel’s doubts are spelled out in plain conversation. The vocabulary is concrete and returns constantly: rock, water, light, dark, deep, hot, cold, lamp, rope, down. The pace is steady, with long descents broken by sudden discoveries, so you have time to settle into the language before the next surprise.

Which level to start at

This is one of the best books in the catalog for A2. The story goes in one direction, down, and the cast is three people. Lexo’s A2 and B1 editions were among the very first it wrote. Higher levels add more of Verne’s science and the professor’s lectures, which are fun once you can follow an argument.