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.
"But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open." She shook her head. Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle. How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use? They went to the upper story.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 45/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 221–225
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 manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading “"But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."”
beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
From this reading “Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.”
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading “Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.”
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading “How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?”
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading “How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?”
past form of “object” — express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent
From this reading “"But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."”
be a mystery or bewildering to
From this reading “Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.”
the topmost one of two
From this reading “They went to the upper story.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
any thing at all
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
the two together, not just one
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
having a face or facing especially of a specified kind or number; often used in combination
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She shook her head.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She shook her head.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
past form of “object” — express or raise an objection or protest or criticism or express dissent
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
To move from a closed position.
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
be a mystery or bewildering to
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She shook her head.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading She shook her head.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading They went to the upper story.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
in or at that place or location
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They went to the upper story.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They went to the upper story.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Those two first of all faced that extraordinary puzzle.
the topmost one of two
From this reading They went to the upper story.
the act of using
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They went to the upper story.
(trademark) an operating system with a graphical user interface
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
in the company of; together with
From this reading How had the murderer entered and left the room with both doors locked on the inside, with the windows too high for use?
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading "But if there's anything wrong," the butler objected, "if anybody's been there, the other door must be open."
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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
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How to work through The Abandoned Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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.
