The Blog
Updates from across the site
12
7 Apr
The Son of God Goes Forth to War
In The Man Who Would Be King (1888) by Rudyard Kipling, this hymn is sung by Dan’s friend Peachey Carnehan right at the end of the tale as he is going mad, as if it has meant something to him for a long time. It is a hymn for the Feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who is remembered each year on December 26th.
13
7 Apr
Report this conversation from Tolstoy’s War and Peace. You could begin: “Anna Pávlovna asked M. Pierre...”.
Anna Pávlovna: “Do you know the Abbé Morio? He is a most interesting man.”
Monsieur Pierre: “Yes, I have heard of his scheme for perpetual peace, and it is very interesting but hardly feasible.”
For example
Here is a line from the same novel:
“I am very glad I did not go to the ambassador’s,” said Prince Hippolyte “— so dull.”
This may be reported as:
Prince Hippolyte said that he was very glad that he had not gone to the Ambassador’s, as it would have been insufferably dull.
14
6 Apr
Rewrite each sentence below, keeping the same idea but avoiding the use of the highlighted metaphor, either by replacing it with another or by not using a metaphor at all.
1Kevin was shaken by the news.
2Nice try, but I’m not going to take the bait.
3That remark was below the belt.
Based on an exercise in Straightforward English (1949) by NL Clay.
15
6 Apr
We tend to use the word ‘tyrant’ today with a mental picture of some apoplectic dictator raving and stamping. This is hardly adequate, and it allows much tyranny to pass unnoticed. Aristotle gave us a more carefully drawn word-portrait: of a man (or of men) whose goal is to keep a grip on power by systematically dividing, demeaning and disheartening the public.
16
3 Apr
Rewrite these sentences to eliminate the word ‘and’. There may be several ways of doing this; see how many you can think of.
1 I asked for a night’s lodging and she said I was welcome to the bed in the loft.
2 I fitted my key into the door and just then I noticed a man and he was at my elbow.
3 I walked into the room and there was an old man and he was at the head of the table and he rose.
For example
I scrambled to my feet and looked around.
Scrambling to my feet, I looked around.
When I had scrambled to my feet, I looked around.
These sentences are based on sentences in the novels of John Buchan.
17
2 Apr
Rewrite these sentences so that they do not use the word ‘if’.
1. If the terms of the treaty were made public, it would mean disaster.
2. If that does not succeed, don’t be discouraged.
3. If you get yourselves into trouble with the police, I can’t officially help you out of it.
For example
We have plenty of time to get there if we take the tube.
By taking the tube, we can get there in plenty of time.
Let’s take the tube, so we don’t need to worry about getting there in time.
Provided we take the tube...
Unless we take the tube, we’ll be cutting it a bit fine.
Sentences taken from the novels of Agatha Christie. Based on an exercise in Advanced English Exercises (1939) by NL Clay.
