Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Abruptly he experienced a momentary release. There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind. He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express. "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself. Then he understood.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 115/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 571–575
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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.”
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading “Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.”
producing no result or effect
From this reading “He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.”
lasting for a markedly brief time
From this reading “Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.”
Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in success. (Sự kiên trì, bền bỉ không bỏ cuộc.)
From this reading “He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.”
release, as from one's grip
From this reading “Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.”
-ing form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.”
a light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
From this reading “He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.”
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 Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.
quickly and without warning
From this reading Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
From this reading Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.
give expression to
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
producing no result or effect
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
a feeling of thoughtful sadness
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
lasting for a markedly brief time
From this reading Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
a change of position that does not entail a change of location
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in success. (Sự kiên trì, bền bỉ không bỏ cuộc.)
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
release, as from one's grip
From this reading Abruptly he experienced a momentary release.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
-ing form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
express in words
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he understood.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
hard to endure
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading Then he understood.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no more swaying, no more movement of any kind.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What is it trying to tell me?" he asked himself.
a light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
the words that are spoken
From this reading He heard a strange, melancholy voice, whispering without words, always whispering with a futile perseverance as if it wished him to understand something it could not express.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room by Wadsworth Camp holds 775 sentences, grouped into 155 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 775 sentences of The Abandoned Room, unabridged, divided into 155 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room by Wadsworth Camp exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 775 sentences, grouped into 155 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 155 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 155 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 The Abandoned Room by Wadsworth Camp on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Abandoned Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Abandoned Room 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 Abandoned Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
