| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: As there was every prospect of a detention of some days in this
place, and as the supplies of the beaver-trap were too precarious
to be depended upon, it became absolutely necessary to run some
risk of discovery by hunting in the neighborhood. Ben Jones,
therefore, obtained permission to range with his rifle some
distance from the camp, and set off to beat up the river banks,
in defiance of bear or Blackfeet.
He returned in great spirits in the course of a few hours, having
come upon a gang of elk about six. miles off, and killed five.
This was joyful news, and the party immediately moved forward to
the place where he had left the carcasses. They were obliged to
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: motion. What could be going on there?
Most of the spectators had gathered in one or two groups
--one a little crowd towards Woking, the other a knot of
people in the direction of Chobham. Evidently they shared
my mental conflict. There were few near me. One man I
approached--he was, I perceived, a neighbour of mine,
though I did not know his name--and accosted. But it was
scarcely a time for articulate conversation.
"What ugly brutes!" he said. "Good God! What ugly
brutes!" He repeated this over and over again.
"Did you see a man in the pit?" I said; but he made no
War of the Worlds |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from My Antonia by Willa Cather: Grandfather heard our story with a twinkle in his eye.
He advised Jake to ride to town tomorrow, go to a justice of
the peace, tell him he had knocked young Shimerda down, and pay
his fine. Then if Mrs. Shimerda was inclined to make trouble--
her son was still under age--she would be forestalled.
Jake said he might as well take the wagon and haul to market
the pig he had been fattening. On Monday, about an hour
after Jake had started, we saw Mrs. Shimerda and her Ambrosch
proudly driving by, looking neither to the right nor left.
As they rattled out of sight down the Black Hawk road,
grandfather chuckled, saying he had rather expected she would
My Antonia |
