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.
The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile. "Ah! You are here, Mr. Blackburn! I'd like a word with you." He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 67/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 331–335
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.
black-and-white North American wood warbler having an orange-and-black head and throat
From this reading “You are here, Mr. Blackburn!”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.”
United States evangelical preacher famous as a mass evangelist (born in 1918)
From this reading “He turned to Graham and Jenkins.”
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading “The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.”
the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand
From this reading “The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.”
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading “The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.”
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 I'd like a word with you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ah!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are here, Mr. Blackburn!
black-and-white North American wood warbler having an orange-and-black head and throat
From this reading You are here, Mr. Blackburn!
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
United States evangelical preacher famous as a mass evangelist (born in 1918)
From this reading He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
an interior passage or corridor onto which rooms open
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading You are here, Mr. Blackburn!
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'd like a word with you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I'd like a word with you."
a form of address for a man
From this reading You are here, Mr. Blackburn!
the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
inflected form of “step” — shift or move by taking a step
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The detective, himself, stepped from the obscurity of the hall, smiling his queer smile.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He turned to Graham and Jenkins.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I'd like a word with you."
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading I'd like a word with you."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You are here, Mr. Blackburn!
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.
