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.
He was murdered, very cleverly murdered. Queerest case I've ever handled. What do you think?" In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night. "Why do you talk to me like this?"
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 151/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 751–755
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.
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading “In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.”
possessive form of “bobby” — an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading “In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.”
in a clever manner
From this reading “He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.”
having a usually specified type of handle
From this reading “Queerest case I've ever handled.”
killed unlawfully
From this reading “He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.”
located far away spatially
From this reading “In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.”
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
From this reading “In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
possessive form of “bobby” — an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
an occurrence of something
From this reading Queerest case I've ever handled.
in a clever manner
From this reading He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What do you think?"
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
at any time
From this reading Queerest case I've ever handled.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
having a usually specified type of handle
From this reading Queerest case I've ever handled.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Queerest case I've ever handled.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
immediately past
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Why do you talk to me like this?"
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Why do you talk to me like this?"
killed unlawfully
From this reading He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Queerest case I've ever handled.
located far away spatially
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "Why do you talk to me like this?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading What do you think?"
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Why do you talk to me like this?"
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Why do you talk to me like this?"
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
precisely as stated
From this reading He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading In his own ears Bobby's voice sounded as remote and unreal as it had through the blackness last night.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was murdered, very cleverly murdered.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What do you think?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why do you talk to me like this?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What do you think?"
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.
