The Copybook

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

97

© DrPete (Pete Coleman), Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Cat and Cook by Ivan Andreyevich Krylov

A little fable about a cat, a chicken and some wasted words.

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98

By William Barnes Wollen (1857–1936), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Traitorous Designs by King George III

In August, 1775, King George III responded to the news of rebellion in the American colonies.

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99

© Karl and Ali, Geograph. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Then Hate Me When Thou Wilt by William Shakespeare

If he is going to drop him, the embattled poet would prefer his friend to get on with it.

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100

© Number 10, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Ministerial Myopia by Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke

We all want our politicians to be clever men, but being cunning isn’t the same as being wise.

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101

© Tom Parnell, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

A Most Successful Holiday by A. G. Gardiner

The best holidays are the ones that make us long for home.

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102

Photo by W. & D. Downey, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.

The Object of a Liberal Education by Thomas Henry Huxley

Thomas Huxley believed that if schools did not ground their pupils in common sense, life’s examinations would be painful.

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May 2 NS

April 19 OS

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.
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.
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