| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Wife, et al by Anton Chekhov: to the house and haggle with me are always youths of sanguine
temperament, broad natures, whose failure at examinations spoils
their appetites and hinders them from visiting the opera with
their usual regularity. I let the first class off easily, but the
second I chivy through a whole year.
"Sit down," I say to my visitor; "what have you to tell me?"
"Excuse me, professor, for troubling you," he begins, hesitating,
and not looking me in the face. "I would not have ventured to
trouble you if it had not been . . . I have been up for your
examination five times, and have been ploughed. . . . I beg you,
be so good as to mark me for a pass, because . . ."
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Dream Life and Real Life by Olive Schreiner: She listened to every word, and they talked on.
Afterwards, the little Bushman, who crouched over the fire, sat up
suddenly, listening.
"Ha! what is that?" he said.
A Bushman is like a dog: his ear is so fine he knows a jackal's tread from
a wild dog's.
"I heard nothing," said the navvy.
"I heard," said the Hottentot; "but it was only a cony on the rocks."
"No cony, no cony," said the Bushman; "see, what is that there moving in
the shade round the point?"
"Nothing, you idiot!" said the navvy. "Finish your meat; we must start
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Master of the World by Jules Verne: customs service.] Before I left Washington Mr. Ward had informed me
of their presence; and a telegram to their commanders would, if there
were need, start them in pursuit of the "Terror." But despite their
splendid speed, how could they vie with her! And if she plunged
beneath the waters, they would be helpless. Moreover Arthur Wells
averred that in case of a battle, the advantage would not be with the
destroyers, despite their large crews, and many guns. Hence, if we
did not succeed this night, the campaign would end in failure.
Arthur Wells knew Black Rock Creek thoroughly, having hunted there
more than once. It was bordered in most places with sharp rocks
against which the waters of the lake beat heavily. Its channel was
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