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.
Graham warned. A foot scraped on gravel. "Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested. He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest. Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 32/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 156–160
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.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading “"Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested.”
Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949)
From this reading “Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.”
the first light of day
From this reading “Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.”
come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading “He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.”
United States evangelical preacher famous as a mass evangelist (born in 1918)
From this reading “Graham warned.”
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading “A foot scraped on gravel.”
past form of “scrape” — scratch repeatedly
From this reading “A foot scraped on gravel.”
a leisurely walk (usually in some public place)
From this reading “Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.”
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 A foot scraped on gravel.
the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
form a curve
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading "Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested.
Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949)
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
the first light of day
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading "Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested.
come out into view, as from concealment
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
-ing form of “expect” — regard something as probable or likely
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading A foot scraped on gravel.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
United States evangelical preacher famous as a mass evangelist (born in 1918)
From this reading Graham warned.
rock fragments and pebbles
From this reading A foot scraped on gravel.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
by chance
From this reading "Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A foot scraped on gravel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
past form of “scrape” — scratch repeatedly
From this reading A foot scraped on gravel.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
not moving or operating freely
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
a leisurely walk (usually in some public place)
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading "Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Maybe the detective," Bobby suggested.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He stared at the bend, expecting to see the stiff, plain figure of the detective emerge from the forest.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading Graham warned.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Instead with a dawning amazement he watched Carlos Paredes stroll into view.
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.
