The Copybook

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

487

By Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1735), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

‘Macedonia Is Too Small for Thee’ by Plutarch

Plutarch tells us how Alexander the Great came to bond with Bucephalus, the mighty stallion that bore him to so many victories.

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488

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

The Little Dog of Castiglione by Helen Maria Williams

Nothing seemed likely to stop Napoleon Bonaparte from conquering Europe, but one little fellow slowed him up a bit.

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489

© Robert Struthers, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Nature’s Harmony by William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth looks back on a life of disappointments and regrets, and finds in them reasons to be thankful.

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490

By Joseph Lange (1751–1831), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Mozart’s Genius by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

An amateur composer once asked Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart how he thought of his lovely music and — for one performance only — the maestro told him.

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491

© Otwarte Klatki, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Country Milkmaid by Thomas James

A pretty young milkmaid plans just a little bit too far ahead.

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492

© Oast House Archive, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Petition of the Candlemakers by Frédéric Bastiat

Frédéric Bastiat made a tongue-in-cheek appeal to the French government, asking them to protect candlemakers from a cut-throat competitor.

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May 4 NS

April 21 OS

The Night-time Disciple : Nicodemus did not allow intellectual doubts to get in the way of what he knew in his heart.
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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