| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: out or dwell upon the thousand peaceful delights they could yield.
Incommunicative as he was, some time elapsed before I had an
opportunity of gauging his mind. I first got an idea of its calibre
when I heard him preach in his own church at Morton. I wish I could
describe that sermon: but it is past my power. I cannot even
render faithfully the effect it produced on me.
It began calm--and indeed, as far as delivery and pitch of voice
went, it was calm to the end: an earnestly felt, yet strictly
restrained zeal breathed soon in the distinct accents, and prompted
the nervous language. This grew to force--compressed, condensed,
controlled. The heart was thrilled, the mind astonished, by the
Jane Eyre |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Father Goriot by Honore de Balzac: "Sir,--I have heard from my father that you are fond of Italian
music. I shall be delighted if you will do me the pleasure of
accepting a seat in my box. La Fodor and Pellegrini will sing on
Saturday, so I am sure that you will not refuse me. M. de
Nucingen and I shall be pleased if you will dine with us; we
shall be quite by ourselves. If you will come and be my escort,
my husband will be glad to be relieved from his conjugal duties.
Do not answer, but simply come.--Yours sincerely,
D. DE N."
"Let me see it," said Father Goriot, when Eugene had read the
letter. "You are going, aren't you?" he added, when he had
Father Goriot |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Gentle Grafter by O. Henry: me in the game had changed his mind; and I wanted to sell the cards
back again. The storekeeper took 'em at half price.
"Yes, I was seventy-five dollars loser up to that time. But while I
had the cards that night I marked every one in every deck. That was
labor. And then trade and commerce had their innings, and the bread I
had cast upon the waters began to come back in the form of cottage
pudding with wine sauce.
"Of course I was among the first to buy chips at Bill Bassett's game.
He had bought the only cards there was to be had in town; and I knew
the back of every one of them better than I know the back of my head
when the barber shows me my haircut in the two mirrors.
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