THE priest looked about, and saw a woman standing afar off, one of whose sons had died but a little time before, and she was now supporting another at the point of death, whilst the tears trickling down her cheek bore witness to her past and present affliction. He pointed her out to the man of God,* who immediately went to her, and, blessing the boy, kissed him, and said to his mother, “Do not fear nor be sorrowful; for your child shall be healed and live, and no one else of your household shall die of this pestilence.” To the truth of which prophecy the mother and son, who lived a long time after that, bore witness.
* A title that in the Bible is used chiefly for the prophet Elijah, who lived in the reign of King Ahab, the seventh King of Israel (r. ?871-?852 BC). See for example 1 Kings 17:17-24.
Précis
Cuthbert’s companion drew his attention to a woman who had already lost one son to the pestilence and was now nursing another, fading quickly. After kissing the plague-ridden child, Cuthbert assured the distraught mother that no more of her family would die: which Bede knew to be true, for mother and son often told the story afterwards. (57 / 60 words)
Cuthbert’s companion drew his attention to a woman who had already lost one son to the pestilence and was now nursing another, fading quickly. After kissing the plague-ridden child, Cuthbert assured the distraught mother that no more of her family would die: which Bede knew to be true, for mother and son often told the story 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: besides, if, just, must, not, or, until, whereas.
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Word Games
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 Do. Have. Leave.
2 Affliction. Out. Village.
3 Being. Household. Stand.
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.)
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding -less.
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Blessed. 2 Same. 3 Thick. 4 Greatest. 5 Live. 6 Little. 7 Whole. 8 Least. 9 Childish.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
fd (6+1)
fad. fade. fed. feed. feud. food.
foodie.
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