Intermediate reading materials

American Declaration of Independence
(first published 4 July 1776)

hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

  hold (verb): to believe; to consider
truth (noun): something that is true
self-evident (adjective): evident, clear, obvious without need of proof
created (pp of to create): made; fabricated; constructed
endowed (pp of to endow): given; provided
creator (noun): maker; a person who makes or creates Creator (noun): God
unalienable (adjective): untransferrable; cannot be given to another person
right (noun): a power or privilege that a person has by law or tradition
liberty (noun): freedom
pursuit (noun): act of pursuing from pursue (verb): to follow; to chase

First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11)

When I was a child, I spake as a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away
childish things. For now we see through a
glass, darkly; but then face to face: now
I know in part; but then shall I know even
as also I am known.

(Christmas Carol)

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle 'til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there.

  manger (noun): a box for food for horses or cows
crib (noun): cot; small bed for a baby
hay (noun): dry grass for animals to eat
cattle (noun): cows
low (verb): to moo; to make the noise of a cow
awake (awoke, awoken) (verb): to wake up; to waken; to wake up; to stop sleeping
cradle (noun): cot; small bed for a baby
'til (preposition): until; till; up to that time
nigh (adjective): near; close; imminent; not far
thee (pronoun): you (old English)

Wilfred Owen

Move him into the sun -
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.

Think how it wakes the seeds, -
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,
Full-nerved,- still warm,- too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
- O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?

  awake (awoke, awoken) (verb): to wake up; to waken; to wake up; to stop sleeping
unsown (adjective): without seed; not planted (NB: "fields unsown" = "unsown fields")
rouse (verb): to wake up; to stimulate; to animate
clay (noun): type of earth; earth; soil
limb (noun): member of the body (leg, arm)
dear-achieved (adjective): costly to create
stir (verb): to move; to waken
fatuous (adjective): purposeless
toil (verb): to work hard; to labour

Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

IF you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

IF you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: `Hold on!'

IF you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

  keep your head (verb): to stay calm; to remain cool
make allowance for (verb): to take into account
impostor (noun): person who pretends to be someone else; charlatan; fraud; phony
knave (noun): con man; cheat; trickster
stoop (verb): to bend down; to bow; to incline; to crouch
build 'em up (informal contraction): build them up
worn-out (adjective): used; completely exhausted; useless
pitch-and-toss (noun): game in which players throw coins
sinew (noun): tough, fibrous tissue joining muscle to bone
hold on (verb): to continue; to persist
foe (noun): enemy
count with you (verb): to matter to you; to be important to you

GO placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with other, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.