full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Philip Renaud and Kenneth Kostel: Could you survive the real Twilight Zone?


Unscramble the Blue Letters


A bright spot appears in the diatnsce. You go to check it out, but something’s looming in the darkness. The light is a bioluminescent lure belonging to an anglerfish. You dart away before it quickly oneps its jaws, sucking in a hapless fish that got too close. Another narrow escape, but you’re nearly there.

Although more than 90% of deep-sea caeteurrs are bceonnuilsemit, only one group produces the color red: dragonfishes. One of them is near. Because red light is qkcuily absorbed by seatwaer, most deep-sea inhabitants can’t see it. The dragonfish emits red light from organs by its eyes, using an invisible headlight to locate unsuspecting prey that its scoops into its caevuorns jaw. You can’t see your enemy, but your silvery, mirror-like scales scatter and seotfn direct light, keeping you hdiedn.

Open Cloze


A bright spot appears in the ________. You go to check it out, but something’s looming in the darkness. The light is a bioluminescent lure belonging to an anglerfish. You dart away before it quickly _____ its jaws, sucking in a hapless fish that got too close. Another narrow escape, but you’re nearly there.

Although more than 90% of deep-sea _________ are ______________, only one group produces the color red: dragonfishes. One of them is near. Because red light is _______ absorbed by ________, most deep-sea inhabitants can’t see it. The dragonfish emits red light from organs by its eyes, using an invisible headlight to locate unsuspecting prey that its scoops into its _________ jaw. You can’t see your enemy, but your silvery, mirror-like scales scatter and ______ direct light, keeping you ______.

Solution


  1. hidden
  2. soften
  3. bioluminescent
  4. distance
  5. seawater
  6. opens
  7. quickly
  8. cavernous
  9. creatures

Original Text


A bright spot appears in the distance. You go to check it out, but something’s looming in the darkness. The light is a bioluminescent lure belonging to an anglerfish. You dart away before it quickly opens its jaws, sucking in a hapless fish that got too close. Another narrow escape, but you’re nearly there.

Although more than 90% of deep-sea creatures are bioluminescent, only one group produces the color red: dragonfishes. One of them is near. Because red light is quickly absorbed by seawater, most deep-sea inhabitants can’t see it. The dragonfish emits red light from organs by its eyes, using an invisible headlight to locate unsuspecting prey that its scoops into its cavernous jaw. You can’t see your enemy, but your silvery, mirror-like scales scatter and soften direct light, keeping you hidden.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
twilight zone 2
red light 2
carbon dioxide 2



Important Words


  1. absorbed
  2. anglerfish
  3. appears
  4. belonging
  5. bioluminescent
  6. bright
  7. cavernous
  8. check
  9. close
  10. color
  11. creatures
  12. darkness
  13. dart
  14. direct
  15. distance
  16. dragonfish
  17. dragonfishes
  18. emits
  19. enemy
  20. escape
  21. eyes
  22. fish
  23. group
  24. hapless
  25. headlight
  26. hidden
  27. inhabitants
  28. invisible
  29. jaw
  30. jaws
  31. keeping
  32. light
  33. locate
  34. looming
  35. lure
  36. narrow
  37. opens
  38. organs
  39. prey
  40. produces
  41. quickly
  42. red
  43. scales
  44. scatter
  45. scoops
  46. seawater
  47. silvery
  48. soften
  49. spot
  50. sucking
  51. unsuspecting