| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Master of the World by Jules Verne: that I should soon quit Washington; though in my line of duty one is
never certain of the morrow. At any moment I might be sent speeding
from Oregon to Florida, from Maine to Texas. And this unpleasant
thought haunted me frequently if my next mission were no more
successful than that to the Great Eyrie, I might as well give up and
hand in my resignation from the force. Of the mysterious chauffeur or
chauffeurs, nothing more was heard. I knew that our own government
agents, as well as foreign ones, were keeping keen watch over all the
roads and rivers, all the lakes and the coasts of America. Of course,
the size of the country made any close supervision impossible; but
these twin inventors had not before chosen secluded and unfrequented
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from In the South Seas by Robert Louis Stevenson: cap'n man-o-wa'. I think Miss Stlevens he rich man all the same
me. All go schoona. I very sorry. My patha he go, my uncle he
go, my cutcheons he go, Miss Stlevens he go: all go. You no see
king cry before. King all the same man: feel bad, he cry. I very
sorry.'
In the morning it was the common topic in the village that the king
had wept. To me he said: 'Last night I no can 'peak: too much
here,' laying his hand upon his bosom. 'Now you go away all the
same my pamily. My brothers, my uncle go away. All the same.'
This was said with a dejection almost passionate. And it was the
first time I had heard him name his uncle, or indeed employ the
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: His lieutenant struggled furiously against other monsters that crept
on the flanks of the Nautilus. The crew fought with their axes.
The Canadian, Conseil, and I buried our weapons in the fleshy masses;
a strong smell of musk penetrated the atmosphere.
It was horrible!
For one instant, I thought the unhappy man, entangled with the poulp, would be
torn from its powerful suction. Seven of the eight arms had been cut off.
One only wriggled in the air, brandishing the victim like a feather. But just
as Captain Nemo and his lieutenant threw themselves on it, the animal ejected
a stream of black liquid. We were blinded with it. When the cloud dispersed,
the cuttlefish had disappeared, and my unfortunate countryman with it.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
