full transcript

From the Ted Talk by BJ Miller: What really matters at the end of life

Unscramble the Blue Letters


(Laughter)

My father weras it now in solidarity.

That night began my famorl relationship with death — my death — and it also began my long run as a patient. It's a good word. It means one who suffers. So I guess we're all patients.

Now, the amceiran health care system has more than its fair sahre of dysfunction — to match its blniaircle, to be sure. I'm a physician now, a hospice and palliative medicine doc, so I've seen care from both sides. And believe me: almost everyone who goes into healthcare really means well — I mean, truly. But we who work in it are also unwitting agents for a system that too often does not sreve.

Open Cloze


(Laughter)

My father _____ it now in solidarity.

That night began my ______ relationship with death — my death — and it also began my long run as a patient. It's a good word. It means one who suffers. So I guess we're all patients.

Now, the ________ health care system has more than its fair _____ of dysfunction — to match its __________, to be sure. I'm a physician now, a hospice and palliative medicine doc, so I've seen care from both sides. And believe me: almost everyone who goes into healthcare really means well — I mean, truly. But we who work in it are also unwitting agents for a system that too often does not _____.

Solution


  1. wears
  2. serve
  3. brilliance
  4. american
  5. formal
  6. share

Original Text


(Laughter)

My father wears it now in solidarity.

That night began my formal relationship with death — my death — and it also began my long run as a patient. It's a good word. It means one who suffers. So I guess we're all patients.

Now, the American health care system has more than its fair share of dysfunction — to match its brilliance, to be sure. I'm a physician now, a hospice and palliative medicine doc, so I've seen care from both sides. And believe me: almost everyone who goes into healthcare really means well — I mean, truly. But we who work in it are also unwitting agents for a system that too often does not serve.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
palliative care 3
unnecessary suffering 2
zen hospice 2


Important Words


  1. agents
  2. american
  3. began
  4. brilliance
  5. care
  6. death
  7. doc
  8. dysfunction
  9. fair
  10. father
  11. formal
  12. good
  13. guess
  14. health
  15. healthcare
  16. hospice
  17. laughter
  18. long
  19. match
  20. means
  21. medicine
  22. night
  23. palliative
  24. patient
  25. patients
  26. physician
  27. relationship
  28. run
  29. serve
  30. share
  31. sides
  32. solidarity
  33. suffers
  34. system
  35. unwitting
  36. wears
  37. word
  38. work