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 entered the corridor. She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls. She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches. She ran to her own room and locked the door. She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 26/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 126–130
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.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.”
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading “She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.”
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading “She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “He entered the corridor.”
get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading “She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.”
depressingly dark
From this reading “She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.”
plural of “reach” — the limits within which something can be effective
From this reading “She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.”
walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet
From this reading “She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.”
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 She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
the rapid series of noises made by the parts of a machine
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading He entered the corridor.
get lost, as without warning or explanation
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading He entered the corridor.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
depressingly dark
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He entered the corridor.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
make or become more narrow or restricted
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
plural of “reach” — the limits within which something can be effective
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
cut with a saw
From this reading She saw his candle disappear in its gloomy reaches.
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
the kind and number and arrangement of teeth (collectively) in a person or animal
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He entered the corridor.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She ran to her own room and locked the door.
plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading She heard him shuffling between its narrow walls.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading She hurried to the window and leaned out, her body shaking, her teeth chattering as if from a sudden chill.
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.
