full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Ashton Applewhite: Let's end ageism

Unscramble the Blue Letters


I also fgrieud that old people were depressed because they were old and they were going to die soon.

(luhgtear)

It turns out that the longer people live, the less they fear dying, and that people are happiest at the beingingns and the end of their lives. It's called the U-curve of happiness, and it's been borne out by dozens of studies around the world. You don't have to be a bduhsidt or a bioraliline. The curve is a function of the way aging itself affects the brain.

So I started flenieg a lot better about getting older, and I started obsessing about why so few pelpoe know these things. The reason is ageism: diitcmarinison and stereotyping on the basis of age. We experience it anytime someone assumes we're too old for something, instead of finding out who we are and what we're capable of, or too young. aesgim cuts both ways. All -isms are socially constructed ideas — rascim, sexism, homophobia — and that means we make them up, and they can cahgne over time. All these prejudices pit us against each other to maintain the status quo, like auto workers in the US competing against auto workers in Mexico instead of organizing for better wages.

Open Cloze


I also _______ that old people were depressed because they were old and they were going to die soon.

(________)

It turns out that the longer people live, the less they fear dying, and that people are happiest at the __________ and the end of their lives. It's called the U-curve of happiness, and it's been borne out by dozens of studies around the world. You don't have to be a ________ or a ___________. The curve is a function of the way aging itself affects the brain.

So I started _______ a lot better about getting older, and I started obsessing about why so few ______ know these things. The reason is ageism: ______________ and stereotyping on the basis of age. We experience it anytime someone assumes we're too old for something, instead of finding out who we are and what we're capable of, or too young. ______ cuts both ways. All -isms are socially constructed ideas — ______, sexism, homophobia — and that means we make them up, and they can ______ over time. All these prejudices pit us against each other to maintain the status quo, like auto workers in the US competing against auto workers in Mexico instead of organizing for better wages.

Solution


  1. buddhist
  2. beginnings
  3. figured
  4. change
  5. people
  6. ageism
  7. billionaire
  8. laughter
  9. feeling
  10. racism
  11. discrimination

Original Text


I also figured that old people were depressed because they were old and they were going to die soon.

(Laughter)

It turns out that the longer people live, the less they fear dying, and that people are happiest at the beginnings and the end of their lives. It's called the U-curve of happiness, and it's been borne out by dozens of studies around the world. You don't have to be a Buddhist or a billionaire. The curve is a function of the way aging itself affects the brain.

So I started feeling a lot better about getting older, and I started obsessing about why so few people know these things. The reason is ageism: discrimination and stereotyping on the basis of age. We experience it anytime someone assumes we're too old for something, instead of finding out who we are and what we're capable of, or too young. Ageism cuts both ways. All -isms are socially constructed ideas — racism, sexism, homophobia — and that means we make them up, and they can change over time. All these prejudices pit us against each other to maintain the status quo, like auto workers in the US competing against auto workers in Mexico instead of organizing for better wages.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
older people 3
auto workers 2
life harder 2
double standard 2


Important Words


  1. affects
  2. age
  3. ageism
  4. aging
  5. anytime
  6. assumes
  7. auto
  8. basis
  9. beginnings
  10. billionaire
  11. borne
  12. brain
  13. buddhist
  14. called
  15. capable
  16. change
  17. competing
  18. constructed
  19. curve
  20. cuts
  21. depressed
  22. die
  23. discrimination
  24. dozens
  25. dying
  26. experience
  27. fear
  28. feeling
  29. figured
  30. finding
  31. function
  32. happiest
  33. happiness
  34. homophobia
  35. ideas
  36. laughter
  37. live
  38. lives
  39. longer
  40. lot
  41. maintain
  42. means
  43. mexico
  44. obsessing
  45. older
  46. organizing
  47. people
  48. pit
  49. prejudices
  50. quo
  51. racism
  52. reason
  53. sexism
  54. socially
  55. started
  56. status
  57. stereotyping
  58. studies
  59. time
  60. turns
  61. wages
  62. ways
  63. workers
  64. world
  65. young