full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Alex Gendler: Blood, concrete, and dynamite Building the Hoover Dam

Unscramble the Blue Letters

In the early 20th century, the United seatts had expanded from coast to coast, but many cities in the arid southwest still lacked reliable weatr sources. While the Colorado River had been devertid into a series of canals, its erratic flow and frequent floods made it unreliable for agriculture. At the same time, the region’s gniworg cities and industries continually needed more energy. So in 1922, the Bureau of Reclamation decided to solve all these polberms in one fell sowop by building a massive hydroelectric dam.

Open Cloze

In the early 20th century, the United ______ had expanded from coast to coast, but many cities in the arid southwest still lacked reliable _____ sources. While the Colorado River had been ________ into a series of canals, its erratic flow and frequent floods made it unreliable for agriculture. At the same time, the region’s _______ cities and industries continually needed more energy. So in 1922, the Bureau of Reclamation decided to solve all these ________ in one fell _____ by building a massive hydroelectric dam.

Solution

  1. growing
  2. diverted
  3. states
  4. problems
  5. swoop
  6. water

Original Text

In the early 20th century, the United States had expanded from coast to coast, but many cities in the arid southwest still lacked reliable water sources. While the Colorado River had been diverted into a series of canals, its erratic flow and frequent floods made it unreliable for agriculture. At the same time, the region’s growing cities and industries continually needed more energy. So in 1922, the Bureau of Reclamation decided to solve all these problems in one fell swoop by building a massive hydroelectric dam.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
hoover dam 2
colorado river 2
canyon walls 2
diversion tunnels 2
cubic meters 2

Important Words

  1. agriculture
  2. arid
  3. building
  4. bureau
  5. canals
  6. century
  7. cities
  8. coast
  9. colorado
  10. continually
  11. dam
  12. decided
  13. diverted
  14. early
  15. energy
  16. erratic
  17. expanded
  18. fell
  19. floods
  20. flow
  21. frequent
  22. growing
  23. hydroelectric
  24. industries
  25. lacked
  26. massive
  27. needed
  28. problems
  29. reclamation
  30. reliable
  31. river
  32. series
  33. solve
  34. sources
  35. southwest
  36. states
  37. swoop
  38. time
  39. united
  40. unreliable
  41. water