The Copybook

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

1387

© Von grzanka, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

The Friendship of Cats by Théophile Gautier

A cat’s affection is not easy to win, but the rewards make the effort worthwhile.

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1388

© Ashley Dace, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0.

A Tempting Offer by Jane Austen

True moral integrity comes from within.

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1389

From Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.

The Nine-Day Queen by Clay Lane

Lady Jane Grey’s accession was almost instantly overturned.

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1390

From Wikimedia Commons.

The Bombardment of Algiers by Clay Lane

For two centuries, human traffickers had stolen English men, women and children for the slave-markets of the Arab world.

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1391

© Geoff Harris, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Farewell by Charles Kingsley

A last goodbye breathes promise of a merry meeting.

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1392

© Yvonne Solomon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Rainbow by William Wordsworth

God’s covenant of love is a fresh joy every time it appears.

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

© Nicholas Armitage / Clay Lane, 2025

April 29 NS

April 16 OS

A Literary Mystery : In 1798, ‘Plays on the Passions’ appeared in London bookstores, but no one seemed to know who had written them.
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.
Zheng He and the Rise of Malacca : Malacca became a refuge from the overbearing empires of the Far East, thanks to a celebrated Chinese admiral.
Confusables : Compose sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between these words.
Jill and I : Include yourself in these sentences about Jill.
Saddled : Use these words in sentences, and see if you can use one of them as a verb.
Russia’s Heroic Stand : In 1941, with much of the West subdued, Adolf Hitler bent the full force of his hatred on Moscow.
Approachable : Replace the verb ‘can’ with these alternatives, and explain how the meaning of the sentence has changed.
The First Easter : In a translation from the Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, St Mark recounts the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb.
A Collect for Easter Day : A short prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, for the day of Christ’s resurrection.
The Gambler : Which well-known expression is Dr Johnson talking about here?
If I Had But Two Little Wings : Samuel Taylor Coleridge holds on to those precious moments when loneliness is a problem for tomorrow.
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