The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

May 17 ns May 4 os

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Read short passages similar to those NL Clay collected in his anthologies, to gain a feeling for the language, history and culture of the English-speaking world.

In The Copybook

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Featured

© Jim Barton, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Grace Darling by Clay Lane

Mild-mannered Grace Darling persuaded her father to let her help him rescue the survivors of a shipwreck.

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1

© Caroline Legg, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

My Native Notes by James Boswell

Scotsman James Boswell always spoke good English when in England, but he was careful to leave a little Scots in.

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2

French folksong, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The Great and the Good by Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe wondered whether goodness was not preferable to greatness.

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3

By Karl von Piloty (1826-1886), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The Coronation of Anne Boleyn by J. A. Froude

The weight of the crown that Anne Boleyn wore proved too heavy to bear.

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4

Dumbarton Oaks Collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Better By Example by Gregory Nazianzen

Gregory urged the persecuted Christians of Nazianzus to be the better men.

Read

5

© David M. Clark, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Proper Game of Cricket

Mary Mitford makes an appeal for the traditional village cricket match.

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6

By Antoine Vérard (fl. 1485-1512), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Batter My Heart by John Donne

John Donne gives God a free hand to do whatever needs to be done.

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Clay Lane The Copybook
About Clay Lane nicholas@claylane.uk

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 17 NS

May 4 OS

My Native Notes : Scotsman James Boswell always spoke good English when in England, but he was careful to leave a little Scots in.
Hidden Message : Reveal the hidden message in a letter, and write a coded letter of your own.
The Great and the Good : Daniel Defoe wondered whether goodness was not preferable to greatness.
Statements, Questions and Commands : Choose a word from our list, and then use it in any one of the three basic types of sentence — if possible.
Sentegrams : These sentences, taken from English literature, have been jumbled up like an anagram; see if you can piece them back together.
Good Sense : Rewrite these sentences so that the word ‘unless’ is not used.
The Coronation of Anne Boleyn : The weight of the crown that Anne Boleyn wore proved too heavy to bear.
Abstract : Use these words in sentences as a Noun, Verb or Adjective.
Better By Example : Gregory urged the persecuted Christians of Nazianzus to be the better men.
Speed Clues : Help a friend to guess five words in under a minute.
A Proper Game of Cricket : Mary Mitford makes an appeal for the traditional village cricket match.
Mini Bios : Write a short paragraph about a prominent person, but don’t start any sentence with he or she.
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