Minis

Passages in précis

Minis

Passages in précis
On the streets of Fes, Morocco. © cat_collector. CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Copy Book
Mini Copy Book Copy Book Passages in Précis Switch to full-length stories

Each post in this section is a short précis (summary) of a passage in The Copy Book. All of them are in modern English. They are intended for students of English as a Foreign Language at Elementary Level.

International Relations

A Credit to His Country

The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

Length: 111 words

Lives of the Saints

The Synod of Whitby

In 664, a council at Whitby decided to align the traditions of the Northumbrian Church with those of Rome and Constantinople.

Length: 115 words

Extracts from Poetry

What’s in a Name?

Juliet complains that the man she loves has the wrong name, and the man she loves hears her doing it.

Length: 111 words

Extracts from Poetry

The Beggar’s Petition

A destitute and friendless farmer, turned from the tradesman’s entrance, tries his luck at the front door.

Length: 120 words

Extracts from Fiction

The Hare and Many Friends

John Gay reflects that in matters of friendship, quality is preferable to quantity.

Length: 117 words

Extracts from Fiction

An Unlikely Heroine

When she was ten, Catherine Morland showed none of the qualities needed to impress the ladies who read romantic fiction.

Length: 112 words