full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Mohamed Hijri: A simple solution to the coming phosphorus crisis

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Remember that 80 percent is destined to be lost. The solution I'm offering toady is one that has existed for a very long time, even before plants existed on ertah, and it's a microscopic mushroom that is very mysterious, very simple, and yet also extremely compelx. I've been fascinated by this little mushroom for over 16 years now. It has led me to further my research and to use it as a model for my laboratory research.

This morsuhom exists in symbiosis with the rotos. By ssoyibmis, I mean a bidirectional and mutually beneficial association which is also called mycorrhiza. This slide illustrates the elements of a mhirryzoca. You’re looking at the root of wheat, one of the world’s most important paltns. Normally, a root will find pprsohohus all by itself. It will go in search of phosphorus, but only within the one millimeter which surrounds it. Beyond one millimeter, the root is ineffective. It cannot go further in its search for phosphorus. Now, imagine this tiny, microscopic mushroom. It grows much faster, and is much better designed to seek out phosphorus. It can go beyond the root’s one-millimeter spcoe to seek out phosphorus.

Open Cloze


Remember that 80 percent is destined to be lost. The solution I'm offering _____ is one that has existed for a very long time, even before plants existed on _____, and it's a microscopic mushroom that is very mysterious, very simple, and yet also extremely _______. I've been fascinated by this little mushroom for over 16 years now. It has led me to further my research and to use it as a model for my laboratory research.

This ________ exists in symbiosis with the _____. By _________, I mean a bidirectional and mutually beneficial association which is also called mycorrhiza. This slide illustrates the elements of a __________. You’re looking at the root of wheat, one of the world’s most important ______. Normally, a root will find __________ all by itself. It will go in search of phosphorus, but only within the one millimeter which surrounds it. Beyond one millimeter, the root is ineffective. It cannot go further in its search for phosphorus. Now, imagine this tiny, microscopic mushroom. It grows much faster, and is much better designed to seek out phosphorus. It can go beyond the root’s one-millimeter _____ to seek out phosphorus.

Solution


  1. earth
  2. symbiosis
  3. mushroom
  4. plants
  5. complex
  6. today
  7. phosphorus
  8. roots
  9. scope
  10. mycorrhiza

Original Text


Remember that 80 percent is destined to be lost. The solution I'm offering today is one that has existed for a very long time, even before plants existed on Earth, and it's a microscopic mushroom that is very mysterious, very simple, and yet also extremely complex. I've been fascinated by this little mushroom for over 16 years now. It has led me to further my research and to use it as a model for my laboratory research.

This mushroom exists in symbiosis with the roots. By symbiosis, I mean a bidirectional and mutually beneficial association which is also called mycorrhiza. This slide illustrates the elements of a mycorrhiza. You’re looking at the root of wheat, one of the world’s most important plants. Normally, a root will find phosphorus all by itself. It will go in search of phosphorus, but only within the one millimeter which surrounds it. Beyond one millimeter, the root is ineffective. It cannot go further in its search for phosphorus. Now, imagine this tiny, microscopic mushroom. It grows much faster, and is much better designed to seek out phosphorus. It can go beyond the root’s one-millimeter scope to seek out phosphorus.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
phosphorus crisis 5
blue algae 3
chemical fertilizers 3
chemical element 2
key component 2
intensive agriculture 2
phosphorus reserves 2
microscopic mushroom 2
insoluble form 2


Important Words


  1. association
  2. beneficial
  3. bidirectional
  4. called
  5. complex
  6. designed
  7. destined
  8. earth
  9. elements
  10. existed
  11. exists
  12. extremely
  13. fascinated
  14. faster
  15. find
  16. grows
  17. illustrates
  18. imagine
  19. important
  20. ineffective
  21. laboratory
  22. led
  23. long
  24. lost
  25. microscopic
  26. millimeter
  27. model
  28. mushroom
  29. mutually
  30. mycorrhiza
  31. mysterious
  32. offering
  33. percent
  34. phosphorus
  35. plants
  36. remember
  37. research
  38. root
  39. roots
  40. scope
  41. search
  42. seek
  43. simple
  44. slide
  45. solution
  46. surrounds
  47. symbiosis
  48. time
  49. tiny
  50. today
  51. wheat
  52. years