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.
"Howells took me in. He looked perfectly normal--not a mark." "I don't want to see him," Bobby said. He drew back from the window, pointing. The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 63/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 311–315
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 “"I don't want to see him," Bobby said.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.”
United States writer and editor (1837-1920)
From this reading “"Howells took me in.”
attach a tag or label to
From this reading “He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."”
conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
From this reading “He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."”
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading “He drew back from the window, pointing.”
past form of “stroll” — walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
From this reading “The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.”
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 He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading He drew back from the window, pointing.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading He drew back from the window, pointing.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He drew back from the window, pointing.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
United States writer and editor (1837-1920)
From this reading "Howells took me in.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Howells took me in.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
attach a tag or label to
From this reading He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Howells took me in.
conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal
From this reading He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading He looked perfectly normal--not a mark."
-ing form of “point” — indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
From this reading He drew back from the window, pointing.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
past form of “stroll” — walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
From this reading The detective, Howells, had strolled into the court.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He drew back from the window, pointing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading "Howells took me in.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "I don't want to see him," Bobby said.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading He drew back from the window, pointing.
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.
