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.
"Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means. I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death. If you smoke so much you will, too, before long." Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him. "Feeling better, Bobby?"
Chapter 1 of The Abandoned Room is here in full — 757 sentences across 152 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 92/151 · 5 reading units · Lines 456–460
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 “Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.”
United States writer and editor (1837-1920)
From this reading “"Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.”
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading “I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “"Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.”
move stealthily
From this reading “Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.”
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading “If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."”
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 "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "Feeling better, Bobby?"
an informal term for a British policeman
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
an occurrence of something
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading "Feeling better, Bobby?"
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
United States writer and editor (1837-1920)
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
the time that has elapsed
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
cut with a saw
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
move stealthily
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading Bobby tried to slip past, but Paredes saw him.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "Certainly it's a queer case, but not the way Howells means.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading I daresay the old fool died what the world will call a natural death.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you smoke so much you will, too, before long."
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.
