full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Manal al-Sharif: A Saudi woman who dared to drive

Unscramble the Blue Letters


So I drove. I posted a veido on YouTube. And to my surprise, it got hundreds of thousands of views the first day. What happened next, of course? I started receiving thetras to be killed, raped, just to stop this cmiagapn.

The Saudi authorities remained very quiet. That really creeped us out. I was in the campaign with other Saudi wmeon and even men activists. We wanted to know how the authorities would renposd on the actual day, June 17, when women go out and drive. So this time I asked my brother to come with me and drive by a poilce car. It went fast. We were aretserd, signed a plgdee not to drive again, released. Arrested again, he was sent to detention for one day, and I was sent to jail. I wasn't sure why I was sent there, because I didn't face any charges in the interrogation. But what I was sure of was my innocence. I didn't break a law, and I kept my aabya — it's a black cloak we wear in Saudi Arabia before we lvaee the house — and my fellow prisoners kept asking me to take it off, but I was so sure of my innocence, I kept saying, "No, I'm leaving today." Outside the jail, the whole country went into a frenzy, some attacking me baldy, and others supportive and even ccoeitlnlg signatures in a petition to be sent to the king to release me. I was released after nine days.

Open Cloze


So I drove. I posted a _____ on YouTube. And to my surprise, it got hundreds of thousands of views the first day. What happened next, of course? I started receiving _______ to be killed, raped, just to stop this ________.

The Saudi authorities remained very quiet. That really creeped us out. I was in the campaign with other Saudi _____ and even men activists. We wanted to know how the authorities would _______ on the actual day, June 17, when women go out and drive. So this time I asked my brother to come with me and drive by a ______ car. It went fast. We were ________, signed a ______ not to drive again, released. Arrested again, he was sent to detention for one day, and I was sent to jail. I wasn't sure why I was sent there, because I didn't face any charges in the interrogation. But what I was sure of was my innocence. I didn't break a law, and I kept my _____ — it's a black cloak we wear in Saudi Arabia before we _____ the house — and my fellow prisoners kept asking me to take it off, but I was so sure of my innocence, I kept saying, "No, I'm leaving today." Outside the jail, the whole country went into a frenzy, some attacking me _____, and others supportive and even __________ signatures in a petition to be sent to the king to release me. I was released after nine days.

Solution


  1. campaign
  2. police
  3. collecting
  4. pledge
  5. respond
  6. abaya
  7. leave
  8. threats
  9. arrested
  10. video
  11. badly
  12. women

Original Text


So I drove. I posted a video on YouTube. And to my surprise, it got hundreds of thousands of views the first day. What happened next, of course? I started receiving threats to be killed, raped, just to stop this campaign.

The Saudi authorities remained very quiet. That really creeped us out. I was in the campaign with other Saudi women and even men activists. We wanted to know how the authorities would respond on the actual day, June 17, when women go out and drive. So this time I asked my brother to come with me and drive by a police car. It went fast. We were arrested, signed a pledge not to drive again, released. Arrested again, he was sent to detention for one day, and I was sent to jail. I wasn't sure why I was sent there, because I didn't face any charges in the interrogation. But what I was sure of was my innocence. I didn't break a law, and I kept my abaya — it's a black cloak we wear in Saudi Arabia before we leave the house — and my fellow prisoners kept asking me to take it off, but I was so sure of my innocence, I kept saying, "No, I'm leaving today." Outside the jail, the whole country went into a frenzy, some attacking me badly, and others supportive and even collecting signatures in a petition to be sent to the king to release me. I was released after nine days.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
saudi arabia 5
shura council 3
battle oppressive 2
oppressive governments 2
saudi woman 2
women drivers 2
religious fatwas 2
started receiving 2
saudi women 2
traffic police 2
small steps 2


Important Words


  1. abaya
  2. activists
  3. actual
  4. arabia
  5. arrested
  6. asked
  7. attacking
  8. authorities
  9. badly
  10. black
  11. break
  12. brother
  13. campaign
  14. car
  15. charges
  16. cloak
  17. collecting
  18. country
  19. creeped
  20. day
  21. days
  22. detention
  23. drive
  24. drove
  25. face
  26. fast
  27. fellow
  28. frenzy
  29. happened
  30. house
  31. hundreds
  32. innocence
  33. interrogation
  34. jail
  35. june
  36. killed
  37. king
  38. law
  39. leave
  40. leaving
  41. men
  42. petition
  43. pledge
  44. police
  45. posted
  46. prisoners
  47. quiet
  48. raped
  49. receiving
  50. release
  51. released
  52. remained
  53. respond
  54. saudi
  55. signatures
  56. signed
  57. started
  58. stop
  59. supportive
  60. surprise
  61. thousands
  62. threats
  63. time
  64. today
  65. video
  66. views
  67. wanted
  68. wear
  69. women
  70. youtube