| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: of mud. He was indignant, amazed and shocked, but in a natural,
healthy way now; so that he could control those unprofitable
sentiments by the dictates of cautious self-restraint. The light in
the room had no unusual brilliance now; it was a good light in which
he could easily observe the expression of her face. It was that of
dull fatigue. And the silence that surrounded them was the normal
silence of any quiet house, hardly disturbed by the faint noises of a
respectable quarter of the town. He was very cool--and it was quite
coolly that he thought how much better it would be if neither of them
ever spoke again. She sat with closed lips, with an air of lassitude
in the stony forgetfulness of her pose, but after a moment she lifted
Tales of Unrest |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: with great attention, without saying a word; then, turning to
his companion, talked with him in an unknown tongue.
It was a sonorous, harmonious, and flexible dialect, the vowels
seeming to admit of very varied accentuation.
The other replied by a shake of the head, and added two or three perfectly
incomprehensible words. Then he seemed to question me by a look.
I replied in good French that I did not know his language;
but he seemed not to understand me, and my situation
became more embarrassing.
"If master were to tell our story," said Conseil, "perhaps these gentlemen
may understand some words."
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Ebb-Tide by Stevenson & Osbourne: berth aft--and I'll ship you mate at seventy-five dollars and two
months' advance.'
'Me mate? Why, I'm a landsman!' cried Herrick.
'Guess you've got to learn,' said the captain. 'You don't fancy
I'm going to skip and leave you rotting on the beach perhaps?
I'm not that sort, old man. And you're handy anyway; I've been
shipmates with worse.'
'God knows I can't refuse,' said Herrick. 'God knows I thank
you from my heart.'
'That's all right,' said the captain. 'But it ain't all.' He
turned aside to light a cigar.
|
