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.
Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered: "But he looks all right. He can't be--" "Cold--already! If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought. Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 49/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 241–245
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.
in a reflex manner
From this reading “Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.”
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading “He can't be--" "Cold--already!”
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.”
all things; all of a situation
From this reading “Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:”
intense and profound fear
From this reading “If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.”
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading “"But he looks all right.”
forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority
From this reading “If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.”
having come into contact
From this reading “If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.”
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 "But he looks all right.
prior to a specified or implied time
From this reading He can't be--" "Cold--already!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
in a reflex manner
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He can't be--" "Cold--already!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "But he looks all right.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He can't be--" "Cold--already!
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading He can't be--" "Cold--already!
past form of “descend” — move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
intense and profound fear
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
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 Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading "But he looks all right.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
precisely, exactly
From this reading "But he looks all right.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
a special situation
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
having come into contact
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading If I hadn't touched--" The horror of the thing descended upon her, stifling thought.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Automatically she left the room and told Jenkins what to do.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jenkins must have read everything in her face, for he whimpered:
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.
