TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Scott Gass: The survival of the sea turtle

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Sea turtles are miraculous. First, they've been around since the late Jurassic, roughly 150 million yreas ago. Cohorts of the dinosaurs, sea tuterls have suirvevd through the challenges of eons, esitxnig still today, where many others have ended their ertilonvauoy run. Second, throughout the centuries and up till today, every lnviig adult sea turtle has overcome the odds, existing as a consequence of chance, skill, and capability. The gauntlet each sea turtle faces in the course of its liemfite goes thus: First, deposited as a clutch of leathrey, ping-pong ball-sized eggs into a nesting pit dug by its meothr high on the beach, of the 50 to 200 eggs laid, roughly 20 percent will never hatch. Roughly a month and a half after having been laid, the surviving eggs hatch, and the young turtles, each small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, siurqm to the surface, emerging from the sand en masse, and making their desperate dash for the sea. Along the way, debris, pitfalls, crabs, gluls, rconocas, and other threats will cailm rhulgoy 50 percent of those who rose from the sand. For those that actually raceh the surf, they tdare one set of threats for another, as they first face the repelling force of the waves, and then find a whole new host of predators awaiting them: Various fish, dolphins, sharks, and sea birds, as the young turtles come to the surface for air. For their first few days of life, should they conut themselves amongst the living, the vulnerable turtles swim frantically forward. Ultimately, they will often look to settle in a patch of fasoltm, preferably a ptcah of floating seaweed. Now for the next several months, they will seek to avoid those that would eat them, find that which they might eat themselves, and not fall to the pressures of challenging weather or unfortunate currents. In this phase, roughly 50 percent of those who reach the surf will perish. utllimtaey, with the psgsaae of years, the survivors will iearnsce in size, from that of a dinner plate at year one to that of a dinner table, in the case of one species at least, the leatherback, a decade or so later. With size comes some measure of protection. The only truly worrisome predators now are some of the larger shark species— bllus, tigers, and whites — and the ocoaiscanl killer whale. At amplixoaeptry two decades of age, the srvurvios will be old enough themselves to breed, and continue the cycle which their very existence hedarls. Of those that began as eggs on a distant beach, now less than 10 percent remain, at least, those were the odds prior to significant human interference. Over the past century, and in particular in the last several decades, human endeavors, from bceah development to plastic refuse to pcnoihag, long lneis, nets, and even noxious cchmealis, including oil, have upped the ante for sea turtles, csauing their survival rate to drop to around one percent or less, from each nesting cycle. It is this added human pressure which has pushed each of the eight sea tutrle species into either a threatened or edennegard state. For while they have evolved to overcome a host of obstacles, the most recent has aserin so quickly and at such scale that the scepies find themselves overwhelmed. So let's quickly recap this cycle of odds. Using a hypothetical nesting season, for fealmes may nest multiple times in a sligne year, of 1,000 eggs, for sake of ease. 1000 eggs laid. 800 hatch. 400 make it to the water. 200 progress toward adulthood. 20 sirvuve to breeding age — that is, without human interference. Two survive to breeding age with human interference. So a breeding adult sea turtle is the very embodiment of a long shot. It is the exception, not the rule. A jackpot. It is, in a very real sense, a miracle.

Open Cloze

Sea turtles are miraculous. First, they've been around since the late Jurassic, roughly 150 million _____ ago. Cohorts of the dinosaurs, sea _______ have ________ through the challenges of eons, ________ still today, where many others have ended their ____________ run. Second, throughout the centuries and up till today, every ______ adult sea turtle has overcome the odds, existing as a consequence of chance, skill, and capability. The gauntlet each sea turtle faces in the course of its ________ goes thus: First, deposited as a clutch of ________, ping-pong ball-sized eggs into a nesting pit dug by its ______ high on the beach, of the 50 to 200 eggs laid, roughly 20 percent will never hatch. Roughly a month and a half after having been laid, the surviving eggs hatch, and the young turtles, each small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, ______ to the surface, emerging from the sand en masse, and making their desperate dash for the sea. Along the way, debris, pitfalls, crabs, _____, ________, and other threats will _____ _______ 50 percent of those who rose from the sand. For those that actually _____ the surf, they _____ one set of threats for another, as they first face the repelling force of the waves, and then find a whole new host of predators awaiting them: Various fish, dolphins, sharks, and sea birds, as the young turtles come to the surface for air. For their first few days of life, should they _____ themselves amongst the living, the vulnerable turtles swim frantically forward. Ultimately, they will often look to settle in a patch of _______, preferably a _____ of floating seaweed. Now for the next several months, they will seek to avoid those that would eat them, find that which they might eat themselves, and not fall to the pressures of challenging weather or unfortunate currents. In this phase, roughly 50 percent of those who reach the surf will perish. __________, with the _______ of years, the survivors will ________ in size, from that of a dinner plate at year one to that of a dinner table, in the case of one species at least, the leatherback, a decade or so later. With size comes some measure of protection. The only truly worrisome predators now are some of the larger shark species— _____, tigers, and whites — and the __________ killer whale. At _____________ two decades of age, the _________ will be old enough themselves to breed, and continue the cycle which their very existence _______. Of those that began as eggs on a distant beach, now less than 10 percent remain, at least, those were the odds prior to significant human interference. Over the past century, and in particular in the last several decades, human endeavors, from _____ development to plastic refuse to ________, long _____, nets, and even noxious _________, including oil, have upped the ante for sea turtles, _______ their survival rate to drop to around one percent or less, from each nesting cycle. It is this added human pressure which has pushed each of the eight sea ______ species into either a threatened or __________ state. For while they have evolved to overcome a host of obstacles, the most recent has ______ so quickly and at such scale that the _______ find themselves overwhelmed. So let's quickly recap this cycle of odds. Using a hypothetical nesting season, for _______ may nest multiple times in a ______ year, of 1,000 eggs, for sake of ease. 1000 eggs laid. 800 hatch. 400 make it to the water. 200 progress toward adulthood. 20 _______ to breeding age — that is, without human interference. Two survive to breeding age with human interference. So a breeding adult sea turtle is the very embodiment of a long shot. It is the exception, not the rule. A jackpot. It is, in a very real sense, a miracle.

Solution

passage
turtle
years
raccoons
turtles
survived
roughly
lines
flotsam
mother
squirm
endangered
gulls
living
causing
females
leathery
single
patch
poaching
existing
claim
survivors
ultimately
increase
reach
bulls
count
beach
approximately
heralds
chemicals
evolutionary
species
trade
survive
lifetime
arisen
occasional

Original Text

Sea turtles are miraculous. First, they've been around since the late Jurassic, roughly 150 million years ago. Cohorts of the dinosaurs, sea turtles have survived through the challenges of eons, existing still today, where many others have ended their evolutionary run. Second, throughout the centuries and up till today, every living adult sea turtle has overcome the odds, existing as a consequence of chance, skill, and capability. The gauntlet each sea turtle faces in the course of its lifetime goes thus: First, deposited as a clutch of leathery, ping-pong ball-sized eggs into a nesting pit dug by its mother high on the beach, of the 50 to 200 eggs laid, roughly 20 percent will never hatch. Roughly a month and a half after having been laid, the surviving eggs hatch, and the young turtles, each small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, squirm to the surface, emerging from the sand en masse, and making their desperate dash for the sea. Along the way, debris, pitfalls, crabs, gulls, raccoons, and other threats will claim roughly 50 percent of those who rose from the sand. For those that actually reach the surf, they trade one set of threats for another, as they first face the repelling force of the waves, and then find a whole new host of predators awaiting them: Various fish, dolphins, sharks, and sea birds, as the young turtles come to the surface for air. For their first few days of life, should they count themselves amongst the living, the vulnerable turtles swim frantically forward. Ultimately, they will often look to settle in a patch of flotsam, preferably a patch of floating seaweed. Now for the next several months, they will seek to avoid those that would eat them, find that which they might eat themselves, and not fall to the pressures of challenging weather or unfortunate currents. In this phase, roughly 50 percent of those who reach the surf will perish. Ultimately, with the passage of years, the survivors will increase in size, from that of a dinner plate at year one to that of a dinner table, in the case of one species at least, the leatherback, a decade or so later. With size comes some measure of protection. The only truly worrisome predators now are some of the larger shark species— bulls, tigers, and whites — and the occasional killer whale. At approximately two decades of age, the survivors will be old enough themselves to breed, and continue the cycle which their very existence heralds. Of those that began as eggs on a distant beach, now less than 10 percent remain, at least, those were the odds prior to significant human interference. Over the past century, and in particular in the last several decades, human endeavors, from beach development to plastic refuse to poaching, long lines, nets, and even noxious chemicals, including oil, have upped the ante for sea turtles, causing their survival rate to drop to around one percent or less, from each nesting cycle. It is this added human pressure which has pushed each of the eight sea turtle species into either a threatened or endangered state. For while they have evolved to overcome a host of obstacles, the most recent has arisen so quickly and at such scale that the species find themselves overwhelmed. So let's quickly recap this cycle of odds. Using a hypothetical nesting season, for females may nest multiple times in a single year, of 1,000 eggs, for sake of ease. 1000 eggs laid. 800 hatch. 400 make it to the water. 200 progress toward adulthood. 20 survive to breeding age — that is, without human interference. Two survive to breeding age with human interference. So a breeding adult sea turtle is the very embodiment of a long shot. It is the exception, not the rule. A jackpot. It is, in a very real sense, a miracle.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
sea turtle	4
human interference	3
sea turtles	2
adult sea	2
breeding age	2

ngrams of length 3

collocation	frequency
adult sea turtle	2

Important Words

added
adult
adulthood
age
air
ante
approximately
arisen
avoid
awaiting
beach
began
birds
breed
breeding
bulls
capability
case
causing
centuries
century
challenges
challenging
chance
chemicals
claim
clutch
cohorts
consequence
continue
count
crabs
currents
cycle
dash
days
debris
decade
decades
deposited
desperate
development
dinner
dinosaurs
distant
dolphins
drop
dug
ease
eat
eggs
embodiment
emerging
en
endangered
endeavors
ended
eons
evolutionary
evolved
exception
existence
existing
face
faces
fall
females
find
fish
fit
floating
flotsam
force
frantically
gauntlet
gulls
hand
hatch
heralds
high
host
human
hypothetical
including
increase
interference
jackpot
jurassic
killer
laid
larger
late
leatherback
leathery
life
lifetime
lines
living
long
making
masse
measure
million
miracle
miraculous
month
months
mother
multiple
nest
nesting
nets
noxious
obstacles
occasional
odds
oil
overcome
overwhelmed
palm
passage
patch
percent
perish
phase
pit
pitfalls
plastic
plate
poaching
predators
preferably
pressure
pressures
prior
progress
protection
pushed
quickly
raccoons
rate
reach
real
recap
refuse
remain
repelling
rose
roughly
rule
run
sake
sand
scale
sea
season
seaweed
seek
sense
set
settle
shark
sharks
shot
significant
single
size
skill
small
species
squirm
state
surf
surface
survival
survive
survived
surviving
survivors
swim
table
threatened
threats
tigers
times
today
trade
turtle
turtles
ultimately
unfortunate
upped
vulnerable
water
waves
weather
whale
whites
worrisome
year
years
young