Forthwith as she went out a voice from heaven spake unto her saying, Mary go in to the wilderness over and beyond the water of Jordan, and there thou shalt obtain salvation. Whereunto she obeyed and there lived eighteen years with two loaves and a half of bread;* and after she lived thirty years by herbs’ roots; where then saint Zosimas found her of whom she was purely and wholly confessed;* and upon Sheer Thursday* next she went dry footed over the water of Jordan unto his monastery and there of him received the sacrament of Christ’s body, and so returned into the same wilderness; and there forthwith yielded her spirit unto almighty God; whose holy body the same holy father found a year after whole and uncorrupted; unto whom came a lion, and made the grave wherein he buried her.
Spelling modernised
* These were the hardest years, Sophronius tells us: Mary’s body screamed for a man’s touch and the obscene songs she had once delighted to sing crowded back into her mind, but she could no longer drink herself into forgetfulness. At last the attacks abated somewhat, and after each one Mary, who had fixed her mind’s eye on the icon of the Virgin Mary she saw in Jerusalem, would be bathed in light.
* When St Zosimus (?460-?560) met her, he found her living in utter solitude and complete nakedness, browned and wrinkled by the sun, her short, unkempt hair bleached white. Mary frankly scared him, not because of her wild appearance but because she knew his name without being told it, because she recited Scripture fluently without ever possessing a Bible or attending more than one church service, and because when she prayed in her characteristic continuous whisper unseen hands gently raised her off the ground.
* The old name for Maundy Thursday. ‘Maundy’ comes from a Latin prayer used on that day, whereas Sheer comes from Old Norse skærr, meaning bright, clear, or pure.
Précis
As Mary left the church, she heard the Virgin Mary tell her to go into the desert across the River Jordan. She obeyed, and lived alone in astonishing self-denial for almost twenty years before a monk, named Zosimus, happened to meet her. He heard her confession and gave her communion, and she died almost immediately afterwards. (56 / 60 words)
As Mary left the church, she heard the Virgin Mary tell her to go into the desert across the River Jordan. She obeyed, and lived alone in astonishing self-denial for almost twenty years before a monk, named Zosimus, happened to meet her. He heard her confession and gave her communion, and she died almost immediately afterwards.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, just, may, not, ought, unless, until.
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Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Bless. Deep. Grave.
2 Born. Forgive. Twelve.
3 Father. See. Two.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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