The Copybook

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

May 7 ns April 24 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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The Accession of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia

May 7

By Ivan Ayvazovsky (1817–1900), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

A Royal Rescue by Nina Brown Baker

Despite failing health, Peter the Great of Russia leapt into Kronstadt Bay to save some young sailors from a watery grave.

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Treaty of Constantinople

May 7

From Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

To Make Greece a Nation by Clay Lane

A headstrong Irish boy became part of the Greek resistance movement that won independence in 1832.

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Featured

© Nick MacNeill, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Tom and Terrier by Jerome K. Jerome

A fox terrier spies what looks like a hapless victim – until he gets up close.

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1

© Tamara Menzi, Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The First Traffic Lights from The Express

The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.

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2

By Boris Grigoriev (1886-1939), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The Rule of the Road by A. G. Gardiner

Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.

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3

Ministry of Information, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Blind Courage by George Santayana

George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.

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4

By Alfred Wordsworth Thompson (1840-1896), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

She was a Phantom of Delight by William Wordsworth

Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.

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5

By Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

The Death of Julius Caesar by Plutarch

When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.

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6

© Brian Deegan, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Two Letters Home by Sir Edward Hamilton Westrow Hulse

A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

May 7 NS

April 24 OS

The Grand Embassy : A young Peter the Great of Russia toured Europe seeking help for his diplomatic, military and architectural plans.
‘Hail, Liberty!’ : Kipling borrowed from the Greek Independence movement to give thanks for the end of the Great War.
The First Traffic Lights : The busy crossroads outside the Houses of Parliament was the testing ground for a new technology.
Good Companions : Explain what these wise classical authors are telling us.
The Rule of the Road : Being a free citizen doesn’t mean that everyone else has to get out of your way.
Blind Courage : George Santayana reprimanded politicians and military men who thought war was good for the country’s soul.
Patience : Make a single sentence out of these three ideas.
The Angel Cried : A hymn sung in the weeks after Easter, imagining how Gabriel brought the news of Christ’s resurrection to Mary.
She was a Phantom of Delight : Mary Wordsworth wasn’t pretty or bookish, but she was kind and vital, and William loved her.
Hardly : Tone down these bold assertions with ‘hardly’.
The Death of Julius Caesar : When Julius Caesar entered the Senate that day, a note warning him of treachery was clutched in his hand — unread.
Two Letters Home : A German soldier stopped the Great War so he could ask Captain Hulse to post a letter for him.
Smile : Choose adjectives of praise for these nouns, at about the 7/10 level.
The Making of Mark : St Mark wrote his Gospel as a summary of the preaching of St Peter.
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