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.
"It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily. "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself." "Don't talk that way. Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions. Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 48/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 236–240
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 “Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.”
the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process
From this reading “Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.”
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading “Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.”
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading “Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.”
plural of “help” — the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading “"That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."”
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading “Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.”
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading “"It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.”
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 Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.
the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
plural of “help” — the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
in a hoarse or husky voice
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
and nothing more
From this reading Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.
used with “to” to say what is right or advisable
From this reading Only, Bobby, it ought never to have happened.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading "Don't talk that way.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Don't talk that way.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
at the time that
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "It's sweet of you, Katherine," he said huskily.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Such a crime would never have entered your head under any conditions.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading "That helps when you don't know what to believe yourself."
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.
