full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Noah Charney: The tragedy of the one guy who was right about the Trojan Horse

Unscramble the Blue Letters


For ten grueling years, the Greeks laid siege to Troy, scattering ships and encampments across the city's shores. But as the Trojans awoke for another day of battle, they found their enemies had vneiashd overnight— leaving behind only an enormous wodoen hsore. Seeing this as a symbol of the Greek’s surrender, the soldiers dragged their prize into the city and began to cabelrete. But one Trojan wasn't hppay.

Laocoön, a seer and priest, was deeply suspicious of the Greek gift. He reminded his fellow Trojans of their enemy’s reputation for trickery, and cautioned them not to accept this strange oferfing. The crowd jeered at his warning, but looöacn was undeterred. He feocrd his way to the wooden besat and thrust his sword into its belly. Yet his blade drew no blood. And if there were men shifting inside, Laocoön couldn't hear them over the crowd.

Open Cloze


For ten grueling years, the Greeks laid siege to Troy, scattering ships and encampments across the city's shores. But as the Trojans awoke for another day of battle, they found their enemies had ________ overnight— leaving behind only an enormous ______ _____. Seeing this as a symbol of the Greek’s surrender, the soldiers dragged their prize into the city and began to _________. But one Trojan wasn't _____.

Laocoön, a seer and priest, was deeply suspicious of the Greek gift. He reminded his fellow Trojans of their enemy’s reputation for trickery, and cautioned them not to accept this strange ________. The crowd jeered at his warning, but _______ was undeterred. He ______ his way to the wooden _____ and thrust his sword into its belly. Yet his blade drew no blood. And if there were men shifting inside, Laocoön couldn't hear them over the crowd.

Solution


  1. celebrate
  2. vanished
  3. offering
  4. laocoön
  5. forced
  6. wooden
  7. happy
  8. horse
  9. beast

Original Text


For ten grueling years, the Greeks laid siege to Troy, scattering ships and encampments across the city's shores. But as the Trojans awoke for another day of battle, they found their enemies had vanished overnight— leaving behind only an enormous wooden horse. Seeing this as a symbol of the Greek’s surrender, the soldiers dragged their prize into the city and began to celebrate. But one Trojan wasn't happy.

Laocoön, a seer and priest, was deeply suspicious of the Greek gift. He reminded his fellow Trojans of their enemy’s reputation for trickery, and cautioned them not to accept this strange offering. The crowd jeered at his warning, but Laocoön was undeterred. He forced his way to the wooden beast and thrust his sword into its belly. Yet his blade drew no blood. And if there were men shifting inside, Laocoön couldn't hear them over the crowd.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
domus aurea 2
pope julius 2


Important Words


  1. accept
  2. awoke
  3. battle
  4. beast
  5. began
  6. belly
  7. blade
  8. blood
  9. cautioned
  10. celebrate
  11. city
  12. crowd
  13. day
  14. deeply
  15. dragged
  16. drew
  17. encampments
  18. enemies
  19. enormous
  20. fellow
  21. forced
  22. gift
  23. greek
  24. greeks
  25. grueling
  26. happy
  27. hear
  28. horse
  29. jeered
  30. laid
  31. laocoön
  32. leaving
  33. men
  34. offering
  35. priest
  36. prize
  37. reminded
  38. reputation
  39. scattering
  40. seer
  41. shifting
  42. ships
  43. shores
  44. siege
  45. soldiers
  46. strange
  47. surrender
  48. suspicious
  49. sword
  50. symbol
  51. ten
  52. thrust
  53. trickery
  54. trojan
  55. trojans
  56. troy
  57. undeterred
  58. vanished
  59. warning
  60. wooden
  61. years