full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Conor Heffernan: The treadmill's dark and twisted past

Unscramble the Blue Letters


It's estimated that, on average, prisoners spent six or so hours a day on treadmills, the enaeuilvqt of climbing 5,000 to 14,000 feet. 14,000 feet is roughly mnout Everest's hlaafwy point. Imagine doing that five days a week with little food.

Cubitt's idea quckily spread across the British Empire and America. Within a decade of its creation, over 50 English prisons boasted a treadmill, and America, a similar amount.

Unsurprisingly, the extireon combined with poor nutrition saw many prisoners suffer breakdowns and injuries, not that prison gduras seemed to care. In 1824, New York prison guard jemas Hardie credited the device with taming his more boisterous inmates, writing that the "monotonous steadiness, and not its severity...constitutes its trroer," a quote many still aegre with.

Open Cloze


It's estimated that, on average, prisoners spent six or so hours a day on treadmills, the __________ of climbing 5,000 to 14,000 feet. 14,000 feet is roughly _____ Everest's _______ point. Imagine doing that five days a week with little food.

Cubitt's idea _______ spread across the British Empire and America. Within a decade of its creation, over 50 English prisons boasted a treadmill, and America, a similar amount.

Unsurprisingly, the ________ combined with poor nutrition saw many prisoners suffer breakdowns and injuries, not that prison ______ seemed to care. In 1824, New York prison guard _____ Hardie credited the device with taming his more boisterous inmates, writing that the "monotonous steadiness, and not its severity...constitutes its ______," a quote many still _____ with.

Solution


  1. terror
  2. agree
  3. quickly
  4. exertion
  5. james
  6. mount
  7. equivalent
  8. guards
  9. halfway

Original Text


It's estimated that, on average, prisoners spent six or so hours a day on treadmills, the equivalent of climbing 5,000 to 14,000 feet. 14,000 feet is roughly Mount Everest's halfway point. Imagine doing that five days a week with little food.

Cubitt's idea quickly spread across the British Empire and America. Within a decade of its creation, over 50 English prisons boasted a treadmill, and America, a similar amount.

Unsurprisingly, the exertion combined with poor nutrition saw many prisoners suffer breakdowns and injuries, not that prison guards seemed to care. In 1824, New York prison guard James Hardie credited the device with taming his more boisterous inmates, writing that the "monotonous steadiness, and not its severity...constitutes its terror," a quote many still agree with.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations




Important Words


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  3. amount
  4. average
  5. boasted
  6. boisterous
  7. breakdowns
  8. british
  9. care
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  28. halfway
  29. hardie
  30. hours
  31. idea
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  33. injuries
  34. inmates
  35. james
  36. mount
  37. nutrition
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  50. steadiness
  51. suffer
  52. taming
  53. terror
  54. treadmill
  55. treadmills
  56. unsurprisingly
  57. week
  58. writing
  59. york