full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Robert Neuwirth: The hidden world of shadow cities

Unscramble the Blue Letters


"Armstrong explained the brutal reality of their situation: they paid 1,500 shillings in rent, about 20 bkucs a month, a relatively high price for a Kenyan shantytown, and they could not afford to be late with the money. 'In case you owe one month, the landlord will come with his henchmen and bundle you out. He will confiscate your things,' aotrmnrsg said. 'Not one month, one day,' his roommate Hilary kebagdnii onomsu, who was cinkoog ugali, the spongy white cornmeal cnctioocon that is the slapte food in the country, cut into the conversation. They called their landlord a Wabenzi, meaning that he is a person who has enough money to dirve a Mercedes-Benz. Hilary seervd the ugali with a fry of meat and tomatoes; the sun slammed down on the thin steel roof; and we perspired as we ate.

Open Cloze


"Armstrong explained the brutal reality of their situation: they paid 1,500 shillings in rent, about 20 _____ a month, a relatively high price for a Kenyan shantytown, and they could not afford to be late with the money. 'In case you owe one month, the landlord will come with his henchmen and bundle you out. He will confiscate your things,' _________ said. 'Not one month, one day,' his roommate Hilary _________ ______, who was _______ ugali, the spongy white cornmeal __________ that is the ______ food in the country, cut into the conversation. They called their landlord a Wabenzi, meaning that he is a person who has enough money to _____ a Mercedes-Benz. Hilary ______ the ugali with a fry of meat and tomatoes; the sun slammed down on the thin steel roof; and we perspired as we ate.

Solution


  1. staple
  2. onsomu
  3. cooking
  4. concoction
  5. armstrong
  6. bucks
  7. kibagendi
  8. served
  9. drive

Original Text


"Armstrong explained the brutal reality of their situation: they paid 1,500 shillings in rent, about 20 bucks a month, a relatively high price for a Kenyan shantytown, and they could not afford to be late with the money. 'In case you owe one month, the landlord will come with his henchmen and bundle you out. He will confiscate your things,' Armstrong said. 'Not one month, one day,' his roommate Hilary Kibagendi Onsomu, who was cooking ugali, the spongy white cornmeal concoction that is the staple food in the country, cut into the conversation. They called their landlord a Wabenzi, meaning that he is a person who has enough money to drive a Mercedes-Benz. Hilary served the ugali with a fry of meat and tomatoes; the sun slammed down on the thin steel roof; and we perspired as we ate.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
million people 5
squatter community 3
largest squatter 2
rio de 2
legal neighborhood 2
electrical power 2
rio people 2
property rights 2
highway median 2


Important Words


  1. afford
  2. armstrong
  3. ate
  4. brutal
  5. bucks
  6. bundle
  7. called
  8. case
  9. concoction
  10. confiscate
  11. conversation
  12. cooking
  13. cornmeal
  14. country
  15. cut
  16. day
  17. drive
  18. explained
  19. food
  20. fry
  21. henchmen
  22. high
  23. hilary
  24. kenyan
  25. kibagendi
  26. landlord
  27. late
  28. meaning
  29. meat
  30. money
  31. month
  32. onsomu
  33. owe
  34. paid
  35. person
  36. perspired
  37. price
  38. reality
  39. rent
  40. roommate
  41. served
  42. shantytown
  43. shillings
  44. slammed
  45. spongy
  46. staple
  47. steel
  48. sun
  49. thin
  50. ugali
  51. wabenzi
  52. white