full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Erika Pinheiro: What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Now, not that this should matter, but I knew that Anna's son had special needs. And once again, this news feilld me with the sense of pnaic and foreboding that has unfortunately become a hallmark of my daily work. I had a signed authorization to act as Anna's attorney, so I rueshd over to the port of entry to see if I could speak with my client. Not only would CBP officials not let me speak to Anna, but they wouldn't even tell me if she was there. I went from suovserpir to supervisor, begging to submit evidence of Anna's son's special needs, but no one would even talk to me about the case. It felt surreal to watch the shoppers strolling idly by what felt like a life-and-death sitiuotan. After several hours of being swaolelnetd by CBP, I left.

Open Cloze


Now, not that this should matter, but I knew that Anna's son had special needs. And once again, this news ______ me with the sense of _____ and foreboding that has unfortunately become a hallmark of my daily work. I had a signed authorization to act as Anna's attorney, so I ______ over to the port of entry to see if I could speak with my client. Not only would CBP officials not let me speak to Anna, but they wouldn't even tell me if she was there. I went from __________ to supervisor, begging to submit evidence of Anna's son's special needs, but no one would even talk to me about the case. It felt surreal to watch the shoppers strolling idly by what felt like a life-and-death _________. After several hours of being ___________ by CBP, I left.

Solution


  1. stonewalled
  2. situation
  3. supervisor
  4. filled
  5. rushed
  6. panic

Original Text


Now, not that this should matter, but I knew that Anna's son had special needs. And once again, this news filled me with the sense of panic and foreboding that has unfortunately become a hallmark of my daily work. I had a signed authorization to act as Anna's attorney, so I rushed over to the port of entry to see if I could speak with my client. Not only would CBP officials not let me speak to Anna, but they wouldn't even tell me if she was there. I went from supervisor to supervisor, begging to submit evidence of Anna's son's special needs, but no one would even talk to me about the case. It felt surreal to watch the shoppers strolling idly by what felt like a life-and-death situation. After several hours of being stonewalled by CBP, I left.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
united states 7
helping immigrants 3
cbp officials 3
travel alert 3
san diego 2
black hole 2
immigration system 2
family members 2
officials held 2
detention camps 2
refugee families 2
southern border 2
refugee children 2
central americans 2
family separation 2
economic migrants 2
climate refugees 2
legal system 2
refugee definition 2


Important Words


  1. act
  2. anna
  3. attorney
  4. authorization
  5. begging
  6. case
  7. cbp
  8. client
  9. daily
  10. entry
  11. evidence
  12. felt
  13. filled
  14. foreboding
  15. hallmark
  16. hours
  17. idly
  18. knew
  19. left
  20. matter
  21. news
  22. officials
  23. panic
  24. port
  25. rushed
  26. sense
  27. shoppers
  28. signed
  29. situation
  30. son
  31. speak
  32. special
  33. stonewalled
  34. strolling
  35. submit
  36. supervisor
  37. surreal
  38. talk
  39. watch
  40. work