full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Luma Mufleh: Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Now, let me tell you why this issue is so important to me. I am an Arab. I am an immigrant. I am a Muslim. I've also spent the last 12 years of my life working with refugees. Oh — and I'm also gay. It makes me really popular these days.

(Laughter)

But I am the dhtugear of a refugee. My grandmother fled Syria in 1964 during the first aassd regime. She was three mnhots pregnant when she packed up a suitcase, piled in her five children and drove to neighboring Jordan, not knowing what the future held for her and her falmiy. My grandfather decided to stay, not believing it was that bad. He followed her a month later, after his brthoers were tortured and his factory was taken over by the government. They rlbuiet their lives stntriag from scratch and evalntuley became independently wealthy Jordanian citizens.

Open Cloze


Now, let me tell you why this issue is so important to me. I am an Arab. I am an immigrant. I am a Muslim. I've also spent the last 12 years of my life working with refugees. Oh — and I'm also gay. It makes me really popular these days.

(Laughter)

But I am the ________ of a refugee. My grandmother fled Syria in 1964 during the first _____ regime. She was three ______ pregnant when she packed up a suitcase, piled in her five children and drove to neighboring Jordan, not knowing what the future held for her and her ______. My grandfather decided to stay, not believing it was that bad. He followed her a month later, after his ________ were tortured and his factory was taken over by the government. They _______ their lives ________ from scratch and __________ became independently wealthy Jordanian citizens.

Solution


  1. eventually
  2. starting
  3. rebuilt
  4. family
  5. assad
  6. brothers
  7. daughter
  8. months

Original Text


Now, let me tell you why this issue is so important to me. I am an Arab. I am an immigrant. I am a Muslim. I've also spent the last 12 years of my life working with refugees. Oh — and I'm also gay. It makes me really popular these days.

(Laughter)

But I am the daughter of a refugee. My grandmother fled Syria in 1964 during the first Assad regime. She was three months pregnant when she packed up a suitcase, piled in her five children and drove to neighboring Jordan, not knowing what the future held for her and her family. My grandfather decided to stay, not believing it was that bad. He followed her a month later, after his brothers were tortured and his factory was taken over by the government. They rebuilt their lives starting from scratch and eventually became independently wealthy Jordanian citizens.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
playing soccer 4
million people 2
refugee camp 2
united states 2
north carolina 2
southern baptist 2


Important Words


  1. arab
  2. assad
  3. bad
  4. believing
  5. brothers
  6. children
  7. citizens
  8. daughter
  9. days
  10. decided
  11. drove
  12. eventually
  13. factory
  14. family
  15. fled
  16. future
  17. gay
  18. government
  19. grandfather
  20. grandmother
  21. held
  22. immigrant
  23. important
  24. independently
  25. issue
  26. jordan
  27. jordanian
  28. knowing
  29. laughter
  30. life
  31. lives
  32. month
  33. months
  34. muslim
  35. neighboring
  36. packed
  37. piled
  38. popular
  39. pregnant
  40. rebuilt
  41. refugee
  42. refugees
  43. regime
  44. scratch
  45. spent
  46. starting
  47. stay
  48. suitcase
  49. syria
  50. tortured
  51. wealthy
  52. working
  53. years