full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Dennis Shasha: Can you solve the stolen rubies riddle?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

You’re both told the rules in acndvae. The merchant will be allowed to discreetly divide his ruebis among three boxes, which will then be placed in front of you. You will be given three crads, and must write a number between 1 and 30 on each, before putting a card in fonrt of each of the boxes. The boxes will then all be opened. For each box, you will receive exactly as many rubies as the number wrtietn on the corresponding card, if the box has that many. But if your number is greater than the number of rubies actually there, the scoundrel gets to keep the entire box.

Open Cloze

You’re both told the rules in _______. The merchant will be allowed to discreetly divide his ______ among three boxes, which will then be placed in front of you. You will be given three _____, and must write a number between 1 and 30 on each, before putting a card in _____ of each of the boxes. The boxes will then all be opened. For each box, you will receive exactly as many rubies as the number _______ on the corresponding card, if the box has that many. But if your number is greater than the number of rubies actually there, the scoundrel gets to keep the entire box.

Solution

  1. rubies
  2. advance
  3. front
  4. cards
  5. written

Original Text

You’re both told the rules in advance. The merchant will be allowed to discreetly divide his rubies among three boxes, which will then be placed in front of you. You will be given three cards, and must write a number between 1 and 30 on each, before putting a card in front of each of the boxes. The boxes will then all be opened. For each box, you will receive exactly as many rubies as the number written on the corresponding card, if the box has that many. But if your number is greater than the number of rubies actually there, the scoundrel gets to keep the entire box.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

  1. advance
  2. allowed
  3. box
  4. boxes
  5. card
  6. cards
  7. discreetly
  8. divide
  9. entire
  10. front
  11. greater
  12. merchant
  13. number
  14. opened
  15. putting
  16. receive
  17. rubies
  18. rules
  19. scoundrel
  20. told
  21. write
  22. written