full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Noah Charney: The art forger who tricked the Nazis

Unscramble the Blue Letters


As the tide of the war tenrud, so did van Meegeren’s luck. Following the Allied victory, he was arrested for delivering a priceless piece of Dutch heritage to the Nazis— an act of treasonous collaboration punishable by death. To prove the painting wasn’t a nainoatl tarserue, he explained step-by-step how he had forged it. But he faced an unexpected obstacle— the very expert who had enabled his scam. Moved to protect his reputation, Bredius dfeedned the painting’s attechinuity. With few options left, van Meegeren set to work on a "new" Vermeer. When he presented the fake to the crout, they finally believed him. He was actqtueid for cllaroanbiotg with the Nazis— and sentenced to a year imprisonment for fraud.

Open Cloze


As the tide of the war ______, so did van Meegeren’s luck. Following the Allied victory, he was arrested for delivering a priceless piece of Dutch heritage to the Nazis— an act of treasonous collaboration punishable by death. To prove the painting wasn’t a ________ ________, he explained step-by-step how he had forged it. But he faced an unexpected obstacle— the very expert who had enabled his scam. Moved to protect his reputation, Bredius ________ the painting’s ____________. With few options left, van Meegeren set to work on a "new" Vermeer. When he presented the fake to the _____, they finally believed him. He was _________ for _____________ with the Nazis— and sentenced to a year imprisonment for fraud.

Solution


  1. treasure
  2. court
  3. defended
  4. turned
  5. authenticity
  6. national
  7. acquitted
  8. collaborating

Original Text


As the tide of the war turned, so did van Meegeren’s luck. Following the Allied victory, he was arrested for delivering a priceless piece of Dutch heritage to the Nazis— an act of treasonous collaboration punishable by death. To prove the painting wasn’t a national treasure, he explained step-by-step how he had forged it. But he faced an unexpected obstacle— the very expert who had enabled his scam. Moved to protect his reputation, Bredius defended the painting’s authenticity. With few options left, van Meegeren set to work on a "new" Vermeer. When he presented the fake to the court, they finally believed him. He was acquitted for collaborating with the Nazis— and sentenced to a year imprisonment for fraud.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
van meegeren 8
meegeren set 2
synthetic resin 2
art world 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
van meegeren set 2

Important Words


  1. acquitted
  2. act
  3. allied
  4. arrested
  5. authenticity
  6. believed
  7. bredius
  8. collaborating
  9. collaboration
  10. court
  11. death
  12. defended
  13. delivering
  14. dutch
  15. enabled
  16. expert
  17. explained
  18. faced
  19. fake
  20. finally
  21. forged
  22. fraud
  23. heritage
  24. imprisonment
  25. left
  26. luck
  27. meegeren
  28. moved
  29. national
  30. options
  31. painting
  32. piece
  33. presented
  34. priceless
  35. protect
  36. prove
  37. punishable
  38. reputation
  39. scam
  40. sentenced
  41. set
  42. tide
  43. treasonous
  44. treasure
  45. turned
  46. unexpected
  47. van
  48. vermeer
  49. victory
  50. war
  51. work
  52. year