full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Nathan D. Horowitz: The myth of the stolen eyeballs

Unscramble the Blue Letters


When dawn broke, the flood reecedd. The fish were gone, and most of the people were, too: the jungle animals had doeuverd them. Only the shaman’s relatives svvuierd. When his family turned toward him, the shaman rezlaeid what the goblins meant when they said the fruits were ripening: they weren’t really collecting siripia fruits at all, but hmuan eyes.

The shaman’s older sister cllaed him over, trying to touch his face with her long, sharp nails. He bcaked away and, remembering the goblin chief’s instructions, threw palm seeds at her face. The seeds became eyes. But then she transformed into a white-lipped peccary and ran away— still alive, but no longer human.

Open Cloze


When dawn broke, the flood _______. The fish were gone, and most of the people were, too: the jungle animals had ________ them. Only the shaman’s relatives ________. When his family turned toward him, the shaman ________ what the goblins meant when they said the fruits were ripening: they weren’t really collecting siripia fruits at all, but _____ eyes.

The shaman’s older sister ______ him over, trying to touch his face with her long, sharp nails. He ______ away and, remembering the goblin chief’s instructions, threw palm seeds at her face. The seeds became eyes. But then she transformed into a white-lipped peccary and ran away— still alive, but no longer human.

Solution


  1. backed
  2. human
  3. called
  4. receded
  5. realized
  6. devoured
  7. survived

Original Text


When dawn broke, the flood receded. The fish were gone, and most of the people were, too: the jungle animals had devoured them. Only the shaman’s relatives survived. When his family turned toward him, the shaman realized what the goblins meant when they said the fruits were ripening: they weren’t really collecting siripia fruits at all, but human eyes.

The shaman’s older sister called him over, trying to touch his face with her long, sharp nails. He backed away and, remembering the goblin chief’s instructions, threw palm seeds at her face. The seeds became eyes. But then she transformed into a white-lipped peccary and ran away— still alive, but no longer human.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
siripia fruits 2
hollow log 2
pineapple sprout 2
air goblins 2
chili peppers 2


Important Words


  1. alive
  2. animals
  3. backed
  4. broke
  5. called
  6. collecting
  7. dawn
  8. devoured
  9. eyes
  10. face
  11. family
  12. fish
  13. flood
  14. fruits
  15. goblin
  16. goblins
  17. human
  18. instructions
  19. jungle
  20. long
  21. longer
  22. meant
  23. nails
  24. older
  25. palm
  26. peccary
  27. people
  28. ran
  29. realized
  30. receded
  31. relatives
  32. remembering
  33. seeds
  34. shaman
  35. sharp
  36. siripia
  37. sister
  38. survived
  39. threw
  40. touch
  41. transformed
  42. turned