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
- growing
- diverted
- states
- problems
- swoop
- 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
- agriculture
- arid
- building
- bureau
- canals
- century
- cities
- coast
- colorado
- continually
- dam
- decided
- diverted
- early
- energy
- erratic
- expanded
- fell
- floods
- flow
- frequent
- growing
- hydroelectric
- industries
- lacked
- massive
- needed
- problems
- reclamation
- reliable
- river
- series
- solve
- sources
- southwest
- states
- swoop
- time
- united
- unreliable
- water