Minis
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.

Discovery and Invention

Alan Blumlein

Railway enthusiast, music lover, and the man who gave us stereo sound.

Length: 106 words

Cat Stories

Tom and Terrier

A fox terrier spies what looks like a hapless victim – until he gets up close.

Length: 99 words

Greek and Roman Myths

The Tragedy of King Oedipus

Oedipus flees home in an attempt to escape a dreadful prophecy, unware that it is following at his heels.

Length: 113 words

Lives of the Saints

St Ahmed

A Turkish official was itching to know the secret behind a Russian slave girl’s personal charm.

Length: 112 words

Poets and Poetry

‘Recessional’

A heartfelt plea for humility at the height of Britain’s Empire.

Length: 69 words

Poets and Poetry

The Nightingale and the Glow Worm

A kind of Aesop’s Fable in verse, about mutual respect among those with different talents.

Length: 57 words