full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Jarreth Merz: Filming democracy in Ghana

Unscramble the Blue Letters


I was born in Switzerland and raised in Ghana, West Africa. gnaha felt safe to me as a child. I was free, I was hppay. The elray 70s marked a time of musical and aritsitc excellence in Ghana. But then by the end of the decade, the country had fallen back into political instability and mismanagement.

In 1979, I witnessed my first military coup. We the children had gathered at a friend's house. It was a dimly lit shack. There was a beaten up black and wthie television fcleiirnkg in the background, and a former head of state and geeranl was being blindfolded and tied to the pole. The firing squad aimed, fired — the general was dead. Now this was being bacsdroat live. And shortly after, we left the country, and we returned to Switzerland.

Open Cloze


I was born in Switzerland and raised in Ghana, West Africa. _____ felt safe to me as a child. I was free, I was _____. The _____ 70s marked a time of musical and ________ excellence in Ghana. But then by the end of the decade, the country had fallen back into political instability and mismanagement.

In 1979, I witnessed my first military coup. We the children had gathered at a friend's house. It was a dimly lit shack. There was a beaten up black and _____ television __________ in the background, and a former head of state and _______ was being blindfolded and tied to the pole. The firing squad aimed, fired — the general was dead. Now this was being _________ live. And shortly after, we left the country, and we returned to Switzerland.

Solution


  1. early
  2. broadcast
  3. artistic
  4. flickering
  5. ghana
  6. happy
  7. general
  8. white

Original Text


I was born in Switzerland and raised in Ghana, West Africa. Ghana felt safe to me as a child. I was free, I was happy. The early 70s marked a time of musical and artistic excellence in Ghana. But then by the end of the decade, the country had fallen back into political instability and mismanagement.

In 1979, I witnessed my first military coup. We the children had gathered at a friend's house. It was a dimly lit shack. There was a beaten up black and white television flickering in the background, and a former head of state and general was being blindfolded and tied to the pole. The firing squad aimed, fired — the general was dead. Now this was being broadcast live. And shortly after, we left the country, and we returned to Switzerland.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
presidential elections 2
clear winner 2


Important Words


  1. africa
  2. aimed
  3. artistic
  4. background
  5. beaten
  6. black
  7. blindfolded
  8. born
  9. broadcast
  10. child
  11. children
  12. country
  13. coup
  14. dead
  15. decade
  16. dimly
  17. early
  18. excellence
  19. fallen
  20. felt
  21. fired
  22. firing
  23. flickering
  24. free
  25. gathered
  26. general
  27. ghana
  28. happy
  29. head
  30. house
  31. instability
  32. left
  33. lit
  34. live
  35. marked
  36. military
  37. mismanagement
  38. musical
  39. pole
  40. political
  41. raised
  42. returned
  43. safe
  44. shack
  45. shortly
  46. squad
  47. state
  48. switzerland
  49. television
  50. tied
  51. time
  52. west
  53. white
  54. witnessed