Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 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 — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood. His grandfather had been strangely murdered. The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder. And he couldn't remember. He turned back to his last clear recollections.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 2/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 6–10
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.
a defendant in a criminal proceeding
From this reading “The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.”
killed unlawfully
From this reading “His grandfather had been strangely murdered.”
a surrounding or nearby region
From this reading “These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.”
almost; nearly
From this reading “The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.”
plural of “recollection” — the ability to recall past occurrences
From this reading “He turned back to his last clear recollections.”
in a strange manner
From this reading “His grandfather had been strangely murdered.”
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading “These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.”
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.
a defendant in a criminal proceeding
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
Having no one else present.
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And he couldn't remember.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He turned back to his last clear recollections.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading His grandfather had been strangely murdered.
rid of obstructions
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he couldn't remember.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
the father of your father or mother
From this reading His grandfather had been strangely murdered.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His grandfather had been strangely murdered.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
immediately past
From this reading He turned back to his last clear recollections.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
killed unlawfully
From this reading His grandfather had been strangely murdered.
a surrounding or nearby region
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
almost; nearly
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
plural of “recollection” — the ability to recall past occurrences
From this reading He turned back to his last clear recollections.
To recall to mind.
From this reading And he couldn't remember.
in a strange manner
From this reading His grandfather had been strangely murdered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned back to his last clear recollections.
not conscious; lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception as if asleep or dead
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
past form of “wander” — move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading These facts, then, alone were clear to him: He had wandered, unconscious, in the neighbourhood.
which person or people
From this reading The detective who had met him in the village practically accused him of the murder.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room by Wadsworth Camp holds 757 sentences, grouped into 152 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 757 sentences of The Abandoned Room, unabridged, divided into 152 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 757 sentences, grouped into 152 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 152 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 152 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 6703 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10869 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10869, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 558 minutes of reading across 1341 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 9 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.
