full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Carlen and Joanna Moles: How pigeons took over the world

Unscramble the Blue Letters


While pigeons play a snrtraig role in urban wildlife, we’re not always enthusiastic neighbors. In 1966, New York’s parks commissioner coined the term “rats with wings” and it stuck. Indeed, their poop, which we oniilalgry chieershd as fertilizer, presents a unique peoblrm. Just one pigeon can leave behind 11 kilograms of acidic excrement per year, which, in the United States, scelas to about $1.1 billion in straucrtul damage alnaluny. Though incidents of infection are rare, this poop can host fungi that are harmful to people if inhaled.

They may be numerous, noisy and a little too keen on your lunch, but the pigeons that swirl around us are evidence of an ancient, ongoing relationship. Their rise to world dotimoiann has been a collaborative effort. For better or for wrose, we did this to ourselves.

Open Cloze


While pigeons play a ________ role in urban wildlife, we’re not always enthusiastic neighbors. In 1966, New York’s parks commissioner coined the term “rats with wings” and it stuck. Indeed, their poop, which we __________ _________ as fertilizer, presents a unique _______. Just one pigeon can leave behind 11 kilograms of acidic excrement per year, which, in the United States, ______ to about $1.1 billion in __________ damage ________. Though incidents of infection are rare, this poop can host fungi that are harmful to people if inhaled.

They may be numerous, noisy and a little too keen on your lunch, but the pigeons that swirl around us are evidence of an ancient, ongoing relationship. Their rise to world __________ has been a collaborative effort. For better or for _____, we did this to ourselves.

Solution


  1. starring
  2. originally
  3. scales
  4. annually
  5. structural
  6. worse
  7. cherished
  8. domination
  9. problem

Original Text


While pigeons play a starring role in urban wildlife, we’re not always enthusiastic neighbors. In 1966, New York’s parks commissioner coined the term “rats with wings” and it stuck. Indeed, their poop, which we originally cherished as fertilizer, presents a unique problem. Just one pigeon can leave behind 11 kilograms of acidic excrement per year, which, in the United States, scales to about $1.1 billion in structural damage annually. Though incidents of infection are rare, this poop can host fungi that are harmful to people if inhaled.

They may be numerous, noisy and a little too keen on your lunch, but the pigeons that swirl around us are evidence of an ancient, ongoing relationship. Their rise to world domination has been a collaborative effort. For better or for worse, we did this to ourselves.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations




Important Words


  1. acidic
  2. ancient
  3. annually
  4. billion
  5. cherished
  6. coined
  7. collaborative
  8. commissioner
  9. damage
  10. domination
  11. effort
  12. enthusiastic
  13. evidence
  14. excrement
  15. fertilizer
  16. fungi
  17. harmful
  18. host
  19. incidents
  20. infection
  21. inhaled
  22. keen
  23. kilograms
  24. leave
  25. lunch
  26. neighbors
  27. noisy
  28. numerous
  29. ongoing
  30. originally
  31. parks
  32. people
  33. pigeon
  34. pigeons
  35. play
  36. poop
  37. presents
  38. problem
  39. rare
  40. relationship
  41. rise
  42. role
  43. scales
  44. starring
  45. states
  46. structural
  47. stuck
  48. swirl
  49. term
  50. unique
  51. united
  52. urban
  53. wildlife
  54. world
  55. worse
  56. year