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 put the candle down and spread her hands. "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared." "Not Mr. Silas?" "We have to break in," she said with a shiver. "Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 44/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 216–220
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.
terminate
From this reading “"We have to break in," she said with a shiver.”
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading “She put the candle down and spread her hands.”
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
From this reading “"Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."”
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading “"It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."”
the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled
From this reading “"Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."”
absolutely essential
From this reading “"Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."”
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading “"We have to break in," she said with a shiver.”
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading “She put the candle down and spread her hands.”
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 "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
terminate
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
stick of wax with a wick in the middle
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
From this reading "Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
past form of “fear” — be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."
the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled
From this reading "Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."
a form of address for a man
From this reading "Not Mr. Silas?"
absolutely essential
From this reading "Get a hammer, a chisel, whatever is necessary."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not Mr. Silas?"
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Not Mr. Silas?"
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She put the candle down and spread her hands.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
any or all of a kind, it does not matter which
From this reading "It's happened, Jenkins--whatever he feared."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "We have to break in," she said with a shiver.
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.
