TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Amy Adkins: The myth of Icarus and Daedalus

Unscramble the Blue Letters

In maliocoghtyl ancient Greece, sarinog above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nuatre. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and hhegir. To wsitesens on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient geerce, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cosrs it was severe. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was hlhgiy rrdageed as a genius inventor, craftsman, and sculptor in his homeland of Athens. He invented carpentry and all the tools used for it. He diensegd the first bathhouse and the first dance floor. He made sculptures so lifelike that hurlcees mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and cerltabeed, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. weirrod that his npheew was a more skillful cafrtsman, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his storied reputation, Daedalus was wlmecoed with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace tiaehccnl advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alive. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans cornotl over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus cengealhld hamun limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, pisaaphë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's pzreid bull. Under this spell, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With ctahcriraietsc audacity, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a hoollw wooden cow so realistic that it fleood the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible perversion of natural law. As puishnenmt, Daedalus was forced to construct an inescapable labyrinth beneath the palace for the minotaur. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus and his only son iaurcs within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a guenis iotnvner. While observing the birds that circled his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their prison as only birds or gods could do. Using fraeehts from the flocks that pceerhd on the tower, and the wax from candles, Daedalus constructed two pairs of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flniyg too near the oecan would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they serluy would die. Therefore, the key to their escape would be in keinpeg to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first mortals ever to fly. While Daedalus styead clfruleay to the midway course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus aeecsndd higher and higher, polserwes to change his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun melted the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of defying the natural laws of mortal men in the sicerve of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their departure from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.

Open Cloze

In ____________ ancient Greece, _______ above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and ______. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and ______. To _________ on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient ______, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the punishment for mortals who attempted to _____ it was severe. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was ______ ________ as a genius inventor, craftsman, and sculptor in his homeland of Athens. He invented carpentry and all the tools used for it. He ________ the first bathhouse and the first dance floor. He made sculptures so lifelike that ________ mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and __________, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. _______ that his ______ was a more skillful _________, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his storied reputation, Daedalus was ________ with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace _________ advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alive. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans _______ over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus __________ _____ limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, ________, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's ______ bull. Under this spell, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With ______________ audacity, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a ______ wooden cow so realistic that it ______ the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible perversion of natural law. As __________, Daedalus was forced to construct an inescapable labyrinth beneath the palace for the minotaur. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus and his only son ______ within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a ______ ________. While observing the birds that circled his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their prison as only birds or gods could do. Using ________ from the flocks that _______ on the tower, and the wax from candles, Daedalus constructed two pairs of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: ______ too near the _____ would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they ______ would die. Therefore, the key to their escape would be in _______ to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first mortals ever to fly. While Daedalus ______ _________ to the midway course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus ________ higher and higher, _________ to change his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun melted the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of defying the natural laws of mortal men in the _______ of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their departure from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.

Solution

flying
surely
fooled
punishment
ascended
keeping
worried
characteristic
challenged
hollow
pasiphaë
higher
welcomed
cross
feathers
powerless
human
ocean
greece
hercules
control
prized
highly
celebrated
nature
nephew
designed
craftsman
service
perched
technical
carefully
regarded
inventor
genius
soaring
mythological
icarus
witnesses
stayed

Original Text

In mythological ancient Greece, soaring above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nature. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and higher. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient Greece, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cross it was severe. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was highly regarded as a genius inventor, craftsman, and sculptor in his homeland of Athens. He invented carpentry and all the tools used for it. He designed the first bathhouse and the first dance floor. He made sculptures so lifelike that Hercules mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and celebrated, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. Worried that his nephew was a more skillful craftsman, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his storied reputation, Daedalus was welcomed with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace technical advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alive. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans control over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus challenged human limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's prized bull. Under this spell, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With characteristic audacity, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a hollow wooden cow so realistic that it fooled the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible perversion of natural law. As punishment, Daedalus was forced to construct an inescapable labyrinth beneath the palace for the minotaur. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus and his only son Icarus within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a genius inventor. While observing the birds that circled his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their prison as only birds or gods could do. Using feathers from the flocks that perched on the tower, and the wax from candles, Daedalus constructed two pairs of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flying too near the ocean would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they surely would die. Therefore, the key to their escape would be in keeping to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first mortals ever to fly. While Daedalus stayed carefully to the midway course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus ascended higher and higher, powerless to change his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun melted the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of defying the natural laws of mortal men in the service of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their departure from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
mythological ancient	2
daedalus constructed	2

Important Words

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