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.
At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key. He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further. To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor. He wanted to be alone. He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 90/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 446–450
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.
make psychologically or physically used (to something)
From this reading “He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.”
the act of closing something
From this reading “At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.”
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading “At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.”
harmful to the mind or morals
From this reading “He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.”
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading “He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.”
comb with a heckle
From this reading “He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.”
past form of “loom” — come into view indistinctly, often threateningly
From this reading “He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.”
(usually plural) a fragment scraped off of something and collected
From this reading “At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.”
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.
make psychologically or physically used (to something)
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
Having no one else present.
From this reading He wanted to be alone.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
From this reading To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading He wanted to be alone.
the act of closing something
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
harmful to the mind or morals
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
a police officer who investigates crimes
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor.
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
to or at a greater extent or degree or a more advanced stage (“further” is used more often than “farther” in this abstract sense)
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
yet to be or coming
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
comb with a heckle
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
From this reading To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
metal device shaped in such a way that when it is inserted into the appropriate lock the lock's mechanism can be rotated
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
past form of “loom” — come into view indistinctly, often threateningly
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
(usually plural) a fragment scraped off of something and collected
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At the end of the corridor he heard the closing of the door, the scraping of the key.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading He wanted to be alone.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was afraid the detective might follow him to his room to heckle him further.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He must have time to accustom himself to this degrading fate which loomed in the too-close future.
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.
