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Mini Copy Book

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.

Extracts from Literature

Twelve Poor Men and True

Charles Dickens explains the thinking behind Jesus Christ’s choice of friends.

Length: 60 words

Extracts from Literature

The Train of a Life

In Charles Dickens’s tale set around Mugby Junction, a man sees his life flash by like a ghostly train.

Length: 61 words

Music and Musicians

Anne Ford Thicknesse

A young English girl in Dr Johnson’s London struggles to share her gift for music.

Length: 116 words

Bible and Saints

Birds of Paradise

Anglo-Saxon poet Cynewulf paints a word-picture of heaven and the seraph-band that swoops and soars before the throne.

Length: 51 words

Mediaeval History

Lambert Simnel

Henry VII must decide how to deal with a boy calling himself ‘King Edward VI’.

Length: 55 words

Extracts from Literature

Wild Goose Chase

Sir Walter Scott warned that schoolchildren must not expect to be entertained all the time.

Length: 114 words