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.
She entered the corridor. She ran its length. She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom. She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections. There was no other answer.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 36/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 176–180
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 room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.”
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “She entered the corridor.”
thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
From this reading “She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.”
plural of “echo” — the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves
From this reading “She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.”
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading “She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.”
plural of “reflection” — a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading “She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.”
inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading “She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.”
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.
react verbally
From this reading There was no other answer.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
put or send forth
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading She entered the corridor.
thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
plural of “echo” — the repetition of a sound resulting from reflection of the sound waves
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading She entered the corridor.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading She ran its length.
past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading She ran its length.
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no other answer.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading She knocked at the locked door of the old bedroom.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading There was no other answer.
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 its length.
thrown into a state of agitated confusion; (“rattled” is an informal term)
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
plural of “reflection” — a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She entered the corridor.
inflected form of “shrink” — wither, as with a loss of moisture
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She entered the corridor.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no other answer.
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 shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was no other answer.
in or at the place that
From this reading She shrank as the echoes rattled from the dingy walls where her candle cast strange reflections.
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.
