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.
Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable. With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone. A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him. He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder. He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 4/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 16–20
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 “With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.”
the residue that remains after animal fat has been rendered
From this reading “A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.”
fit for habitation
From this reading “Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.”
the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
From this reading “Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.”
in a restless manner
From this reading “He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.”
more slowly
From this reading “He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.”
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading “He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.”
branch out in a twiglike manner
From this reading “A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.”
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 crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
Having no one else present.
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
the residue that remains after animal fat has been rendered
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
all through a period, or at some point within it
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
-ing form of “glance” — throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.
depressingly dark
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
fit for habitation
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
for more time
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
not any; not one
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
above and across; more than
From this reading He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.
past form of “persist” — continue to exist
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
successfully completed or brought to an end
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
in a restless manner
From this reading He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.
cut with a saw
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
more slowly
From this reading He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading Steadily during his lifetime it had grown more gloomy, less habitable.
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
From this reading He saw no one, but that idea of stealthy pursuit persisted.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
not thin; of a specific thickness or of relatively great extent from one surface to the opposite usually in the smallest of the three solid dimensions
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
branch out in a twiglike manner
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
past form of “warn” — notify of danger, potential harm, or risk
From this reading A crackling twig or a loose stone struck by a foot might have warned him.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading He went slower, glancing restlessly over his shoulder.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With the silent forest thick about him Bobby realized that he was no longer alone.
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.
