TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Alex Gendler: Can you solve the bridge riddle?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Taking that ihntsrenip in a remote mtuainon lab might not have been the best idea. pinllug that lever with the slukl symbol just to see what it did probably wasn't so samrt, either, but now is not the time for regrets because you need to get away from these matnut ziombes fast. With you are the janitor, the lab assistant, and the old professor. You've gotten a headstart, but there's only one way to safety: across an old rope bridge spanning a massive gorge. You can dash across in a mnitue, while the lab assistant takes two minutes. The janitor is a bit slower and needs five minutes, and the professor takes a whole ten minutes, holding onto the ropes every step of the way. By the professor's cuailtclnoas, the zombies will catch up to you in just over 17 minutes, so you only have that much time to get everyone across and cut the rpoes. Unfortunately, the bridge can only hold two people at a time. To make matters worse, it's so dark out that you can barely see, and the old lantern you grabbed on your way only illuminates a tiny area. Can you figure out a way to have everyone epsace in time? Remember: no more than two people can cross the bridge together, anyone crossing must either hold the lantern or stay right next to it, and any of you can safely wait in the dark on either side of the gorge. Most importantly, everyone must be safely across before the zombies arrive. Otherwise, the first zombie could step on the bridge while people are still on it. Finally, there are no tricks to use here. You can't swing across, use the bridge as a raft, or brneeifd the zombies. Pause the video now if you want to figure it out for yourself! Answer in: 3 awnser in: 2 Answer in: 1 At first it might seem like no matter what you do, you're just a minute or two short of time, but there is a way. The key is to minimize the time wasted by the two slowest people by having them cross together. And because you'll need to make a couple of return trips with the lantern, you'll want to have the fastest pploee available to do so. So, you and the lab assistant quickly run across with the lantern, though you have to slow down a bit to match her pace. After two muteins, both of you are across, and you, as the quickest, run back with the lantern. Only three minutes have passed. So far, so good. Now comes the hard part. The psreofsor and the janitor take the lantern and cross together. This takes them ten minutes since the jonaitr has to slow down for the old professor who keeps mtntureig that he probably shouldn't have given the zombies nhigt vision. By the time they're across, there are only four minutes left, and you're still stuck on the wonrg side of the bgdrie. But remember, the lab assistant has been wniaitg on the other side, and she's the second fastest of the group. So she grabs the lantern from the professor and runs back across to you. Now with only two minutes left, the two of you make the final crossing. As you step on the far side of the gorge, you cut the ropes and collapse the bridge behind you, just in the nick of time. Maybe next summer, you'll just sictk to the library.

Open Cloze

Taking that __________ in a remote ________ lab might not have been the best idea. _______ that lever with the _____ symbol just to see what it did probably wasn't so _____, either, but now is not the time for regrets because you need to get away from these ______ _______ fast. With you are the janitor, the lab assistant, and the old professor. You've gotten a headstart, but there's only one way to safety: across an old rope bridge spanning a massive gorge. You can dash across in a ______, while the lab assistant takes two minutes. The janitor is a bit slower and needs five minutes, and the professor takes a whole ten minutes, holding onto the ropes every step of the way. By the professor's ____________, the zombies will catch up to you in just over 17 minutes, so you only have that much time to get everyone across and cut the _____. Unfortunately, the bridge can only hold two people at a time. To make matters worse, it's so dark out that you can barely see, and the old lantern you grabbed on your way only illuminates a tiny area. Can you figure out a way to have everyone ______ in time? Remember: no more than two people can cross the bridge together, anyone crossing must either hold the lantern or stay right next to it, and any of you can safely wait in the dark on either side of the gorge. Most importantly, everyone must be safely across before the zombies arrive. Otherwise, the first zombie could step on the bridge while people are still on it. Finally, there are no tricks to use here. You can't swing across, use the bridge as a raft, or ________ the zombies. Pause the video now if you want to figure it out for yourself! Answer in: 3 ______ in: 2 Answer in: 1 At first it might seem like no matter what you do, you're just a minute or two short of time, but there is a way. The key is to minimize the time wasted by the two slowest people by having them cross together. And because you'll need to make a couple of return trips with the lantern, you'll want to have the fastest ______ available to do so. So, you and the lab assistant quickly run across with the lantern, though you have to slow down a bit to match her pace. After two _______, both of you are across, and you, as the quickest, run back with the lantern. Only three minutes have passed. So far, so good. Now comes the hard part. The _________ and the janitor take the lantern and cross together. This takes them ten minutes since the _______ has to slow down for the old professor who keeps _________ that he probably shouldn't have given the zombies _____ vision. By the time they're across, there are only four minutes left, and you're still stuck on the _____ side of the ______. But remember, the lab assistant has been _______ on the other side, and she's the second fastest of the group. So she grabs the lantern from the professor and runs back across to you. Now with only two minutes left, the two of you make the final crossing. As you step on the far side of the gorge, you cut the ropes and collapse the bridge behind you, just in the nick of time. Maybe next summer, you'll just _____ to the library.

Solution

befriend
calculations
people
answer
escape
wrong
mountain
bridge
mutant
internship
skull
minute
waiting
ropes
stick
muttering
night
zombies
smart
professor
minutes
pulling
janitor

Original Text

Taking that internship in a remote mountain lab might not have been the best idea. Pulling that lever with the skull symbol just to see what it did probably wasn't so smart, either, but now is not the time for regrets because you need to get away from these mutant zombies fast. With you are the janitor, the lab assistant, and the old professor. You've gotten a headstart, but there's only one way to safety: across an old rope bridge spanning a massive gorge. You can dash across in a minute, while the lab assistant takes two minutes. The janitor is a bit slower and needs five minutes, and the professor takes a whole ten minutes, holding onto the ropes every step of the way. By the professor's calculations, the zombies will catch up to you in just over 17 minutes, so you only have that much time to get everyone across and cut the ropes. Unfortunately, the bridge can only hold two people at a time. To make matters worse, it's so dark out that you can barely see, and the old lantern you grabbed on your way only illuminates a tiny area. Can you figure out a way to have everyone escape in time? Remember: no more than two people can cross the bridge together, anyone crossing must either hold the lantern or stay right next to it, and any of you can safely wait in the dark on either side of the gorge. Most importantly, everyone must be safely across before the zombies arrive. Otherwise, the first zombie could step on the bridge while people are still on it. Finally, there are no tricks to use here. You can't swing across, use the bridge as a raft, or befriend the zombies. Pause the video now if you want to figure it out for yourself! Answer in: 3 Answer in: 2 Answer in: 1 At first it might seem like no matter what you do, you're just a minute or two short of time, but there is a way. The key is to minimize the time wasted by the two slowest people by having them cross together. And because you'll need to make a couple of return trips with the lantern, you'll want to have the fastest people available to do so. So, you and the lab assistant quickly run across with the lantern, though you have to slow down a bit to match her pace. After two minutes, both of you are across, and you, as the quickest, run back with the lantern. Only three minutes have passed. So far, so good. Now comes the hard part. The professor and the janitor take the lantern and cross together. This takes them ten minutes since the janitor has to slow down for the old professor who keeps muttering that he probably shouldn't have given the zombies night vision. By the time they're across, there are only four minutes left, and you're still stuck on the wrong side of the bridge. But remember, the lab assistant has been waiting on the other side, and she's the second fastest of the group. So she grabs the lantern from the professor and runs back across to you. Now with only two minutes left, the two of you make the final crossing. As you step on the far side of the gorge, you cut the ropes and collapse the bridge behind you, just in the nick of time. Maybe next summer, you'll just stick to the library.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
lab assistant	3

Important Words

answer
area
arrive
assistant
barely
befriend
bit
bridge
calculations
catch
collapse
couple
cross
crossing
cut
dark
dash
escape
fast
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figure
final
finally
good
gorge
grabbed
grabs
group
hard
headstart
hold
holding
idea
illuminates
importantly
internship
janitor
key
lab
lantern
left
lever
library
massive
match
matter
matters
minimize
minute
minutes
mountain
mutant
muttering
nick
night
pace
part
passed
pause
people
professor
pulling
quickest
quickly
raft
regrets
remember
remote
return
rope
ropes
run
runs
safely
short
side
skull
slow
slower
slowest
smart
spanning
stay
step
stick
stuck
summer
swing
symbol
takes
ten
time
tiny
tricks
trips
video
vision
wait
waiting
wasted
worse
wrong
zombie
zombies