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.
His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown. His voice quavered unexpectedly. He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby! Damned waster! God knows what he'll do next."
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 775 sentences across 155 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 7/155 · 5 reading units · Lines 31–35
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 “He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!”
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading “His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.”
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “Damned waster!”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.”
a male grandchild
From this reading “He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!”
past form of “quaver” — give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
From this reading “His voice quavered unexpectedly.”
in a way that was not expected
From this reading “His voice quavered unexpectedly.”
someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently
From this reading “Damned waster!”
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 His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!
plural of “brow” — the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
reduced in size or pulled together
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
expletives used informally as intensifiers
From this reading Damned waster!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading God knows what he'll do next."
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading God knows what he'll do next."
a male grandchild
From this reading He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!
a neutral achromatic color midway between white and black
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading God knows what he'll do next."
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading God knows what he'll do next."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading His heavy brows, gray like his beard, contracted in a frown.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading God knows what he'll do next."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!
past form of “quaver” — give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
From this reading His voice quavered unexpectedly.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading He spoke of his grandson: "Bobby!
in a way that was not expected
From this reading His voice quavered unexpectedly.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading His voice quavered unexpectedly.
someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently
From this reading Damned waster!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading God knows what he'll do next."
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.
