| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: WHAT I SAW OF THE DESTRUCTION
OF WEYBRIDGE AND SHEPPERTON
As the dawn grew brighter we withdrew from the win-
dow from which we had watched the Martians, and went
very quietly downstairs.
The artilleryman agreed with me that the house was no
place to stay in. He proposed, he said, to make his way
Londonward, and thence rejoin his battery--No. 12, of the
Horse Artillery. My plan was to return at once to Leather-
head; and so greatly had the strength of the Martians im-
pressed me that I had determined to take my wife to New-
War of the Worlds |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick A. Talbot: hors de combat, he is revealing the position of his artillery,
and the observer is equally industrious in picking up the range
of the hostile guns for the benefit of his friends below.
When the captive balloon is aloft in a wind the chances of the
enemy picking up the range thereof are extremely slender, as it
is continually swinging to and fro. While there is always the
possibility of a shell bursting at such a lucky moment as to
demolish the aerial target, it is generally conceded to be
impossible to induce a shell to burst within 100 yards of a
balloon, no matter how skilfully the hostile battery may be
operated.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Daughter of Eve by Honore de Balzac: neatness. His clothes always seem to have been twisted, frayed, and
crumpled intentionally, in order to harmonize with his physiognomy. He
keeps one of his hands habitually in the bosom of his waistcoat in the
pose which Girodet's portrait of Monsieur de Chateaubriand has
rendered famous; but less to imitate that great man (for he does not
wish to resemble any one) than to rumple the over-smooth front of his
shirt. His cravat is no sooner put on than it is twisted by the
convulsive motions of his head, which are quick and abrupt, like those
of a thoroughbred horse impatient of harness, and constantly tossing
up its head to rid itself of bit and bridle. His long and pointed
beard is neither combed, nor perfumed, nor brushed, nor trimmed, like
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