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.
There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger. He looked at him closer. The man was plainly clothed. He had small, sharp eyes. His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 141/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 701–705
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.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading “He looked at him closer.”
wearing or provided with clothing; sometimes used in combination
From this reading “The man was plainly clothed.”
having no hair or fur
From this reading “His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.”
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading “There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.”
with elaboration
From this reading “His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.”
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading “There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “The man was plainly clothed.”
marked by wrinkles
From this reading “His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.”
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He looked at him closer.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading He looked at him closer.
wearing or provided with clothing; sometimes used in combination
From this reading The man was plainly clothed.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He had small, sharp eyes.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had small, sharp eyes.
having no hair or fur
From this reading His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked at him closer.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.
with elaboration
From this reading His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked at him closer.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading The man was plainly clothed.
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading The man was plainly clothed.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading He had small, sharp eyes.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He had small, sharp eyes.
anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The man was plainly clothed.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no harm being seen, miserable as he was, dressed as he was, by this stranger.
marked by wrinkles
From this reading His hairless face was intricately wrinkled.
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.
