full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Maria Elena De Obaldia: Do mosquitos actually bite some people more than others?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Some swear they’re cusred to be hnteud by mosquitoes while their close-by companions are regularly left ucshneatd. But is this an illusion? If it's not, what's going on? And what can we do about it?

It all comes down to how— and why— mosquitoes find us. While male mosquitoes stick to nectar for sustenance, females also seek out blood to provide the nutrients they need for their eggs. Different mosquito species evolved to feed on different aianlms. And, probably within the last 10,000 years, multiple mosquito lineages independently evolved a predilection for people. As human settlements became more permanent, they provided plenty of standing wetar, even through ienstne dry seasons, which supported miotsuqo reproduction year-round.

Open Cloze


Some swear they’re ______ to be ______ by mosquitoes while their close-by companions are regularly left _________. But is this an illusion? If it's not, what's going on? And what can we do about it?

It all comes down to how— and why— mosquitoes find us. While male mosquitoes stick to nectar for sustenance, females also seek out blood to provide the nutrients they need for their eggs. Different mosquito species evolved to feed on different _______. And, probably within the last 10,000 years, multiple mosquito lineages independently evolved a predilection for people. As human settlements became more permanent, they provided plenty of standing _____, even through _______ dry seasons, which supported ________ reproduction year-round.

Solution


  1. unscathed
  2. intense
  3. animals
  4. cursed
  5. hunted
  6. mosquito
  7. water

Original Text


Some swear they’re cursed to be hunted by mosquitoes while their close-by companions are regularly left unscathed. But is this an illusion? If it's not, what's going on? And what can we do about it?

It all comes down to how— and why— mosquitoes find us. While male mosquitoes stick to nectar for sustenance, females also seek out blood to provide the nutrients they need for their eggs. Different mosquito species evolved to feed on different animals. And, probably within the last 10,000 years, multiple mosquito lineages independently evolved a predilection for people. As human settlements became more permanent, they provided plenty of standing water, even through intense dry seasons, which supported mosquito reproduction year-round.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
carbon dioxide 3
female mosquitoes 2
body heat 2


Important Words


  1. animals
  2. blood
  3. companions
  4. cursed
  5. dry
  6. eggs
  7. evolved
  8. feed
  9. females
  10. find
  11. human
  12. hunted
  13. illusion
  14. independently
  15. intense
  16. left
  17. lineages
  18. male
  19. mosquito
  20. mosquitoes
  21. multiple
  22. nectar
  23. nutrients
  24. people
  25. permanent
  26. plenty
  27. predilection
  28. provide
  29. regularly
  30. reproduction
  31. seasons
  32. seek
  33. settlements
  34. species
  35. standing
  36. stick
  37. supported
  38. sustenance
  39. swear
  40. unscathed
  41. water
  42. years