full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: A tour of the ancient Greek Underworld

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Oh, and don’t mind tlaantus here. He was part of the first generation of mortals, enjoying privileges like dnniig with the gods. Some say Tantalus stole ambrosia from Zeus, others that he doubted the omniscience of the gods and cooked his own son into a stew to see if they would ntoice. Naturally, they did. And as eternal pseumhinnt, when Tantalus reaches for food, the branches grow taller. And when he spoots to quench his thirst, the water recedes.

And here we have the Danaids. At their father’s order, they beheaded their hsnbauds on their wedding night. They must fill this basin with wtear. But, the trick is, their jars are cracked, so it always... just... leaks away. Oh, but don’t worry! No leaky appliances for you.

Open Cloze


Oh, and don’t mind ________ here. He was part of the first generation of mortals, enjoying privileges like ______ with the gods. Some say Tantalus stole ambrosia from Zeus, others that he doubted the omniscience of the gods and cooked his own son into a stew to see if they would ______. Naturally, they did. And as eternal __________, when Tantalus reaches for food, the branches grow taller. And when he ______ to quench his thirst, the water recedes.

And here we have the Danaids. At their father’s order, they beheaded their ________ on their wedding night. They must fill this basin with _____. But, the trick is, their jars are cracked, so it always... just... leaks away. Oh, but don’t worry! No leaky appliances for you.

Solution


  1. punishment
  2. dining
  3. notice
  4. stoops
  5. water
  6. tantalus
  7. husbands

Original Text


Oh, and don’t mind Tantalus here. He was part of the first generation of mortals, enjoying privileges like dining with the gods. Some say Tantalus stole ambrosia from Zeus, others that he doubted the omniscience of the gods and cooked his own son into a stew to see if they would notice. Naturally, they did. And as eternal punishment, when Tantalus reaches for food, the branches grow taller. And when he stoops to quench his thirst, the water recedes.

And here we have the Danaids. At their father’s order, they beheaded their husbands on their wedding night. They must fill this basin with water. But, the trick is, their jars are cracked, so it always... just... leaks away. Oh, but don’t worry! No leaky appliances for you.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations




Important Words


  1. ambrosia
  2. appliances
  3. basin
  4. beheaded
  5. branches
  6. cooked
  7. cracked
  8. danaids
  9. dining
  10. doubted
  11. enjoying
  12. eternal
  13. fill
  14. food
  15. generation
  16. gods
  17. grow
  18. husbands
  19. jars
  20. leaks
  21. leaky
  22. mind
  23. mortals
  24. naturally
  25. night
  26. notice
  27. omniscience
  28. order
  29. part
  30. privileges
  31. punishment
  32. quench
  33. reaches
  34. recedes
  35. son
  36. stew
  37. stole
  38. stoops
  39. taller
  40. tantalus
  41. thirst
  42. trick
  43. water
  44. wedding
  45. zeus