full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Penelope Boston: There might just be life on Mars

Unscramble the Blue Letters


So, we know that it's probably quite cryptic. Very critically, how do we protect it, if we find it, and not contaminate it? And also, even perhaps more critically, because this is the only home planet we have, how do we protect us from it, while we study it? So why might it be hard to find? Well, it's probably microscopic, and it's never easy to study microscopic things, although the amazing tolos that we now have to do that allow us to sutdy things in much greater depth, at much smaller scales than ever before. But it's probably hiding, because if you are out seeuinetrqsg rreescous from your environment, that makes you yummy, and other things might want to eat you, or cnosume you. And so, there's a game of predator-prey that's going to be, essentially, universal, really, in any kind of biological system. It also may be very, very different in its fuentadanml properties – its chemistry, or its size.

Open Cloze


So, we know that it's probably quite cryptic. Very critically, how do we protect it, if we find it, and not contaminate it? And also, even perhaps more critically, because this is the only home planet we have, how do we protect us from it, while we study it? So why might it be hard to find? Well, it's probably microscopic, and it's never easy to study microscopic things, although the amazing _____ that we now have to do that allow us to _____ things in much greater depth, at much smaller scales than ever before. But it's probably hiding, because if you are out ____________ _________ from your environment, that makes you yummy, and other things might want to eat you, or _______ you. And so, there's a game of predator-prey that's going to be, essentially, universal, really, in any kind of biological system. It also may be very, very different in its ___________ properties – its chemistry, or its size.

Solution


  1. tools
  2. resources
  3. study
  4. sequestering
  5. fundamental
  6. consume

Original Text


So, we know that it's probably quite cryptic. Very critically, how do we protect it, if we find it, and not contaminate it? And also, even perhaps more critically, because this is the only home planet we have, how do we protect us from it, while we study it? So why might it be hard to find? Well, it's probably microscopic, and it's never easy to study microscopic things, although the amazing tools that we now have to do that allow us to study things in much greater depth, at much smaller scales than ever before. But it's probably hiding, because if you are out sequestering resources from your environment, that makes you yummy, and other things might want to eat you, or consume you. And so, there's a game of predator-prey that's going to be, essentially, universal, really, in any kind of biological system. It also may be very, very different in its fundamental properties – its chemistry, or its size.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
solar system 4
dozen years 3
find life 2
natural outgrowth 2
planetary systems 2
week celebration 2
potential life 2


Important Words


  1. amazing
  2. biological
  3. chemistry
  4. consume
  5. contaminate
  6. critically
  7. cryptic
  8. depth
  9. easy
  10. eat
  11. environment
  12. essentially
  13. find
  14. fundamental
  15. game
  16. greater
  17. hard
  18. hiding
  19. home
  20. kind
  21. microscopic
  22. planet
  23. properties
  24. protect
  25. resources
  26. scales
  27. sequestering
  28. size
  29. smaller
  30. study
  31. system
  32. tools
  33. universal
  34. yummy