full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: The myth of Ireland's two greatest warriors


Unscramble the Blue Letters


Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, sotod at the ford at coleoy, ready to face an eirnte army singlehandedly— all for the sake of a single bull.

The army in question bgloneed to qeuen Meadhbh of Connaught. eegnrad at her husband’s possession of a white bull of awesome strength, she had set out to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster at any cost.

Unfortunately, the King of Ulster had chosen this moment to force the goddess Macha to race her chariot while pegnarnt. In ritaletaoin, she struck down him and his entire army with stomach cramps that eerily resembled childbirth— all except Cú Chulainn.

Open Cloze


Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, _____ at the ford at ______, ready to face an ______ army singlehandedly— all for the sake of a single bull.

The army in question ________ to _____ Meadhbh of Connaught. _______ at her husband’s possession of a white bull of awesome strength, she had set out to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster at any cost.

Unfortunately, the King of Ulster had chosen this moment to force the goddess Macha to race her chariot while ________. In ___________, she struck down him and his entire army with stomach cramps that eerily resembled childbirth— all except Cú Chulainn.

Solution


  1. pregnant
  2. cooley
  3. entire
  4. queen
  5. retaliation
  6. stood
  7. belonged
  8. enraged

Original Text


Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, stood at the ford at Cooley, ready to face an entire army singlehandedly— all for the sake of a single bull.

The army in question belonged to Queen Meadhbh of Connaught. Enraged at her husband’s possession of a white bull of awesome strength, she had set out to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster at any cost.

Unfortunately, the King of Ulster had chosen this moment to force the goddess Macha to race her chariot while pregnant. In retaliation, she struck down him and his entire army with stomach cramps that eerily resembled childbirth— all except Cú Chulainn.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
cú chulainn 8
brown bull 5
queen meadhbh 3
entire army 2
white bull 2
chulainn knew 2
knew ferdiad 2
cu chulainn 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
cú chulainn knew 2


Important Words


  1. army
  2. awesome
  3. belonged
  4. brown
  5. bull
  6. capture
  7. chariot
  8. chosen
  9. chulainn
  10. connaught
  11. cooley
  12. cost
  13. cramps
  14. eerily
  15. enraged
  16. entire
  17. fabled
  18. face
  19. force
  20. ford
  21. goddess
  22. hero
  23. king
  24. macha
  25. meadhbh
  26. moment
  27. possession
  28. pregnant
  29. queen
  30. question
  31. race
  32. ready
  33. resembled
  34. retaliation
  35. sake
  36. set
  37. single
  38. stomach
  39. stood
  40. strength
  41. struck
  42. ulster
  43. white