full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Sheila Marie Orfano: How do you know what's true?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime’s only known wsetesins recount their version of the events that transpired. But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible, yet different. And each witness implicates themselves.

This is the premise of “In a Grove,” a short story pslhbieud in the early 1920s by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Though many know this tale of warring pepiervcests by a different name: “Rashomon.” In 1950, jsnepaae filmmaker Akira ksrowaua adapted two of Akutagawa’s stories into one film. This movie introduced the world to an ernnudig cultural metaphor that has transformed our understanding of truth, jcsuite and human memory.

Open Cloze


A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime’s only known _________ recount their version of the events that transpired. But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible, yet different. And each witness implicates themselves.

This is the premise of “In a Grove,” a short story _________ in the early 1920s by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Though many know this tale of warring ____________ by a different name: “Rashomon.” In 1950, ________ filmmaker Akira ________ adapted two of Akutagawa’s stories into one film. This movie introduced the world to an ________ cultural metaphor that has transformed our understanding of truth, _______ and human memory.

Solution


  1. published
  2. perspectives
  3. justice
  4. kurosawa
  5. japanese
  6. enduring
  7. witnesses

Original Text


A samurai is found dead in a quiet bamboo grove. One by one, the crime’s only known witnesses recount their version of the events that transpired. But as they each tell their tale, it becomes clear that every testimony is plausible, yet different. And each witness implicates themselves.

This is the premise of “In a Grove,” a short story published in the early 1920s by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Though many know this tale of warring perspectives by a different name: “Rashomon.” In 1950, Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa adapted two of Akutagawa’s stories into one film. This movie introduced the world to an enduring cultural metaphor that has transformed our understanding of truth, justice and human memory.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
rashomon effect 6
human memory 2


Important Words


  1. adapted
  2. akira
  3. akutagawa
  4. author
  5. bamboo
  6. clear
  7. cultural
  8. dead
  9. early
  10. enduring
  11. events
  12. film
  13. filmmaker
  14. grove
  15. human
  16. implicates
  17. introduced
  18. japanese
  19. justice
  20. kurosawa
  21. memory
  22. metaphor
  23. movie
  24. perspectives
  25. plausible
  26. premise
  27. published
  28. quiet
  29. recount
  30. ryūnosuke
  31. samurai
  32. short
  33. stories
  34. story
  35. tale
  36. testimony
  37. transformed
  38. transpired
  39. truth
  40. understanding
  41. version
  42. warring
  43. witness
  44. witnesses
  45. world