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 flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either. He forced his glance from the searching flame. He managed to lower and steady his voice. "You can't. That's the trouble.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 85/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 421–425
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 “The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.”
a holder with sockets for candles
From this reading “The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.”
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading “The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.”
move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading “The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.”
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading “He managed to lower and steady his voice.”
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading “He forced his glance from the searching flame.”
make steady
From this reading “He managed to lower and steady his voice.”
pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading “The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You can't.
a holder with sockets for candles
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
without stop or interruption
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
one or the other of two
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
past form of “fail” — fail to do something; leave something undone
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
A hot glowing body of ignited gas produced by fire.
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
move back and forth very rapidly
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading He forced his glance from the searching flame.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He forced his glance from the searching flame.
throw a glance at; take a brief look at
From this reading He forced his glance from the searching flame.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He forced his glance from the searching flame.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He forced his glance from the searching flame.
the act of retaining something
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading He managed to lower and steady his voice.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading He managed to lower and steady his voice.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
diligent and thorough in inquiry or investigation
From this reading He forced his glance from the searching flame.
make steady
From this reading He managed to lower and steady his voice.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's the trouble.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
a source of difficulty
From this reading That's the trouble.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading He managed to lower and steady his voice.
pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
From this reading The flame continued to flicker, but the hand holding the candlestick failed to move, and Bobby knew that the eyes didn't waver, either.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You can't.
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.
