full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Gary Devore: Run, sail or hide? How to survive the destruction of Pompeii

Unscramble the Blue Letters


It’s a bustling day in Pompeii. Fabia vistis the Temple of vneus and orffes a sacrificial dove to the goddess, asking her to bless her brother’s upcoming wedding. After a quick visit to the market, she stops her brothers, lucuis and Marcus, cnorsisg the Forum.

They’re off to relax at the public baths. Marcus spent the morning helping a master craftsman lay a grand mosaic floor while Lucius worked in the brickyard. It’s been 17 years since an earthquake hit Pompeii and its neighbor Herculaneum, and there’s still cnotcrositun and repair work to do. Fabia and her brothers discuss the recent tremors everyone’s been feeling. Lucius jokes that there’ll always be work for men who rebuild walls in pomepii. He tells them how eager he is to bind hdans with his sponsa, or bride-to-be. The siblings begin dsciisnusg tomorrow’s wedding— but a dianfeeng boom interrupts them.

Open Cloze


It’s a bustling day in Pompeii. Fabia ______ the Temple of _____ and ______ a sacrificial dove to the goddess, asking her to bless her brother’s upcoming wedding. After a quick visit to the market, she _____ her brothers, ______ and Marcus, ________ the Forum.

They’re off to relax at the public baths. Marcus spent the morning helping a master craftsman lay a grand mosaic floor while Lucius worked in the brickyard. It’s been 17 years since an earthquake hit Pompeii and its neighbor Herculaneum, and there’s still ____________ and repair work to do. Fabia and her brothers discuss the recent tremors everyone’s been feeling. Lucius jokes that there’ll always be work for men who rebuild walls in _______. He tells them how eager he is to bind _____ with his sponsa, or bride-to-be. The siblings begin __________ tomorrow’s wedding— but a _________ boom interrupts them.

Solution


  1. deafening
  2. pompeii
  3. offers
  4. visits
  5. construction
  6. crossing
  7. spots
  8. discussing
  9. hands
  10. lucius
  11. venus

Original Text


It’s a bustling day in Pompeii. Fabia visits the Temple of Venus and offers a sacrificial dove to the goddess, asking her to bless her brother’s upcoming wedding. After a quick visit to the market, she spots her brothers, Lucius and Marcus, crossing the Forum.

They’re off to relax at the public baths. Marcus spent the morning helping a master craftsman lay a grand mosaic floor while Lucius worked in the brickyard. It’s been 17 years since an earthquake hit Pompeii and its neighbor Herculaneum, and there’s still construction and repair work to do. Fabia and her brothers discuss the recent tremors everyone’s been feeling. Lucius jokes that there’ll always be work for men who rebuild walls in Pompeii. He tells them how eager he is to bind hands with his sponsa, or bride-to-be. The siblings begin discussing tomorrow’s wedding— but a deafening boom interrupts them.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
pompeii fabia 2
hot ash 2
pyroclastic surge 2


Important Words


  1. baths
  2. bind
  3. bless
  4. boom
  5. brickyard
  6. brothers
  7. bustling
  8. construction
  9. craftsman
  10. crossing
  11. day
  12. deafening
  13. discuss
  14. discussing
  15. dove
  16. eager
  17. earthquake
  18. fabia
  19. feeling
  20. floor
  21. forum
  22. goddess
  23. grand
  24. hands
  25. helping
  26. herculaneum
  27. hit
  28. interrupts
  29. jokes
  30. lay
  31. lucius
  32. marcus
  33. market
  34. master
  35. men
  36. morning
  37. mosaic
  38. neighbor
  39. offers
  40. pompeii
  41. public
  42. quick
  43. rebuild
  44. relax
  45. repair
  46. sacrificial
  47. siblings
  48. spent
  49. sponsa
  50. spots
  51. tells
  52. temple
  53. tremors
  54. upcoming
  55. venus
  56. visit
  57. visits
  58. walls
  59. wedding
  60. work
  61. worked
  62. years