full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Ayana Jamieson and Moya Bailey: Why should you read sci-fi superstar Octavia E. Butler?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Following a devastating nuclear war, Lilith Iyapo awakens after 250 yreas of stasis to find herself suourerdnd by a group of aliens clelad the Oankali. These highly evolved beings want to trade DNA by breeding with humans so that each species’ genes can diversify and fortify the other. The only alternative they offer is sterilization of the entire human race. Should hutniamy take the leap into the biological unknown, or hold on to its identity and perish?

Questions like this haunt oaictva Butler’s "Dawn," the first in her trgoily "Lilith’s Brood." A visionary storyteller who upended science fiction, Butler built stnuinng worlds throughout her work– and explored dilemams that keep us awake at night.

Open Cloze


Following a devastating nuclear war, Lilith Iyapo awakens after 250 _____ of stasis to find herself __________ by a group of aliens ______ the Oankali. These highly evolved beings want to trade DNA by breeding with humans so that each species’ genes can diversify and fortify the other. The only alternative they offer is sterilization of the entire human race. Should ________ take the leap into the biological unknown, or hold on to its identity and perish?

Questions like this haunt _______ Butler’s "Dawn," the first in her _______ "Lilith’s Brood." A visionary storyteller who upended science fiction, Butler built ________ worlds throughout her work– and explored ________ that keep us awake at night.

Solution


  1. called
  2. octavia
  3. years
  4. humanity
  5. trilogy
  6. dilemmas
  7. surrounded
  8. stunning

Original Text


Following a devastating nuclear war, Lilith Iyapo awakens after 250 years of stasis to find herself surrounded by a group of aliens called the Oankali. These highly evolved beings want to trade DNA by breeding with humans so that each species’ genes can diversify and fortify the other. The only alternative they offer is sterilization of the entire human race. Should humanity take the leap into the biological unknown, or hold on to its identity and perish?

Questions like this haunt Octavia Butler’s "Dawn," the first in her trilogy "Lilith’s Brood." A visionary storyteller who upended science fiction, Butler built stunning worlds throughout her work– and explored dilemmas that keep us awake at night.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
science fiction 2


Important Words


  1. aliens
  2. alternative
  3. awake
  4. awakens
  5. beings
  6. biological
  7. breeding
  8. brood
  9. built
  10. butler
  11. called
  12. devastating
  13. dilemmas
  14. diversify
  15. dna
  16. entire
  17. evolved
  18. explored
  19. fiction
  20. find
  21. fortify
  22. genes
  23. group
  24. haunt
  25. highly
  26. hold
  27. human
  28. humanity
  29. humans
  30. identity
  31. iyapo
  32. leap
  33. lilith
  34. night
  35. nuclear
  36. oankali
  37. octavia
  38. offer
  39. perish
  40. questions
  41. race
  42. science
  43. stasis
  44. sterilization
  45. storyteller
  46. stunning
  47. surrounded
  48. trade
  49. trilogy
  50. unknown
  51. upended
  52. visionary
  53. war
  54. worlds
  55. years