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 urged the butler into the sombre corridor. "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors." She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house. Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings. He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 46/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 226–230
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 “She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.”
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
From this reading “He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.”
past form of “insert” — put or introduce into something
From this reading “He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.”
not adroit
From this reading “He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.”
plural of “misgiving” — uneasiness about the fitness of an action
From this reading “Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.”
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading “Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.”
showing ignorance of the laws of nature and faith in magic or chance
From this reading “Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.”
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.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
a manservant (usually the head servant of a household) who has charge of wines and the table
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
an edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge
From this reading He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
plural of “door” — a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
plural of “force” — a powerful effect or influence
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
past form of “insert” — put or introduce into something
From this reading He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
past form of “lock” — fasten with a lock
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
not adroit
From this reading He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
plural of “misgiving” — uneasiness about the fitness of an action
From this reading Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
past form of “respond” — show a response or a reaction to something
From this reading Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.
cut with a saw
From this reading Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
lacking brightness or color; dull
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
not in physical motion
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
showing ignorance of the laws of nature and faith in magic or chance
From this reading Jenkins, she saw, responded to the same superstitious misgivings.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
not correspondent
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
past form of “urge” — force or impel in an indicated direction
From this reading She urged the butler into the sombre corridor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She still vibrated to the feeling of unconformable forces in the old house.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "We have to know," she whispered, "what's happened beyond those locked doors."
in the company of; together with
From this reading He inserted the chisel with maladroit hands.
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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Abandoned Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
