full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Ben Katchor: Comics of bygone New York

Unscramble the Blue Letters


These one or two story structures, dneeisgd to yield only enough income to coevr the taxes on the land on which they stand, were not menat to be permanent biuidngls. Yet for one reason or another they have confounded the efforts of developers to be combined into lots suitable for high-rise construction.

Although they make no claim to architectural beauty, they are, in their perfect tepoarrsemnis, a delightful alternative to the large-scale structures that might someday take their pacle. The most perfect examples occupy corner lots. They offer a pnlaaest respite from the high-density development around them. A break of light and air, an architectural biding of time.

Open Cloze


These one or two story structures, ________ to yield only enough income to _____ the taxes on the land on which they stand, were not _____ to be permanent _________. Yet for one reason or another they have confounded the efforts of developers to be combined into lots suitable for high-rise construction.

Although they make no claim to architectural beauty, they are, in their perfect _____________, a delightful alternative to the large-scale structures that might someday take their _____. The most perfect examples occupy corner lots. They offer a ________ respite from the high-density development around them. A break of light and air, an architectural biding of time.

Solution


  1. buildings
  2. place
  3. pleasant
  4. meant
  5. temporariness
  6. cover
  7. designed

Original Text


These one or two story structures, designed to yield only enough income to cover the taxes on the land on which they stand, were not meant to be permanent buildings. Yet for one reason or another they have confounded the efforts of developers to be combined into lots suitable for high-rise construction.

Although they make no claim to architectural beauty, they are, in their perfect temporariness, a delightful alternative to the large-scale structures that might someday take their place. The most perfect examples occupy corner lots. They offer a pleasant respite from the high-density development around them. A break of light and air, an architectural biding of time.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
wall switch 2
commercial building 2


Important Words


  1. air
  2. alternative
  3. architectural
  4. beauty
  5. biding
  6. break
  7. buildings
  8. claim
  9. combined
  10. confounded
  11. construction
  12. corner
  13. cover
  14. delightful
  15. designed
  16. developers
  17. development
  18. efforts
  19. examples
  20. income
  21. land
  22. light
  23. lots
  24. meant
  25. occupy
  26. offer
  27. perfect
  28. permanent
  29. place
  30. pleasant
  31. reason
  32. respite
  33. stand
  34. story
  35. structures
  36. suitable
  37. taxes
  38. temporariness
  39. time
  40. yield