full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Adam Foss: A prosecutor's vision for a better justice system

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Which is the better way to spend our time? How would you prefer your proceourtss to spend theirs? Why are we spending 80 billion dollars on a prison industry that we know is failing, when we could take that money and rcellotaae it into education, into mteanl hleath treatment, into substance abuse treatment and to cmomntiuy investment so we can dlveoep our neighborhoods?

(Applause)

So why should this matter to you? Well, one, we're spending a lot of money. Our meony. It costs 109,000 dollars in some states to lock up a teenager for a year, with a 60 percent chance that that person will return to the very same system. That is a terrible return on investment.

Open Cloze


Which is the better way to spend our time? How would you prefer your ___________ to spend theirs? Why are we spending 80 billion dollars on a prison industry that we know is failing, when we could take that money and __________ it into education, into ______ ______ treatment, into substance abuse treatment and to _________ investment so we can _______ our neighborhoods?

(Applause)

So why should this matter to you? Well, one, we're spending a lot of money. Our _____. It costs 109,000 dollars in some states to lock up a teenager for a year, with a 60 percent chance that that person will return to the very same system. That is a terrible return on investment.

Solution


  1. community
  2. mental
  3. reallocate
  4. develop
  5. health
  6. prosecutors
  7. money

Original Text


Which is the better way to spend our time? How would you prefer your prosecutors to spend theirs? Why are we spending 80 billion dollars on a prison industry that we know is failing, when we could take that money and reallocate it into education, into mental health treatment, into substance abuse treatment and to community investment so we can develop our neighborhoods?

(Applause)

So why should this matter to you? Well, one, we're spending a lot of money. Our money. It costs 109,000 dollars in some states to lock up a teenager for a year, with a 60 percent chance that that person will return to the very same system. That is a terrible return on investment.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
criminal justice 11
justice system 6
young man 4
criminal record 4
law school 2
million people 2
arraigned christopher 2
public safety 2
mental health 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
criminal justice system 6

Important Words


  1. abuse
  2. applause
  3. billion
  4. chance
  5. community
  6. costs
  7. develop
  8. dollars
  9. education
  10. failing
  11. health
  12. industry
  13. investment
  14. lock
  15. lot
  16. matter
  17. mental
  18. money
  19. neighborhoods
  20. percent
  21. person
  22. prefer
  23. prison
  24. prosecutors
  25. reallocate
  26. return
  27. spend
  28. spending
  29. states
  30. substance
  31. system
  32. teenager
  33. terrible
  34. time
  35. treatment
  36. year