full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Mona Chalabi: Is it really that bad to marry my cousin?
Unscramble the Blue Letters
It's estimated that less than one percent of American couples are cousins. But the widespread illegality, not to mention the scoial stigma, makes quftniniayg it quite difficult. If you ask poelpe why cousin margriae seems wrong, haetlh might come up. The fear of birth defects and genetic disorders has influenced the change in social norms. But in 2002, researchers from the niaaotnl Society of Genetic Counselors found that the increased risk was a minor one. In the general population, the risk that a child will be born with serious complications is three to four percent. With a first-cousin couple, the risk increased by 1.7 to 2.8 percentage points. And with those figures, the rsaeehrercs concluded that there was no biological reason to discourage cousins from mrarying.
Open Cloze
It's estimated that less than one percent of American couples are cousins. But the widespread illegality, not to mention the ______ stigma, makes ___________ it quite difficult. If you ask ______ why cousin ________ seems wrong, ______ might come up. The fear of birth defects and genetic disorders has influenced the change in social norms. But in 2002, researchers from the ________ Society of Genetic Counselors found that the increased risk was a minor one. In the general population, the risk that a child will be born with serious complications is three to four percent. With a first-cousin couple, the risk increased by 1.7 to 2.8 percentage points. And with those figures, the ___________ concluded that there was no biological reason to discourage cousins from ________.
Solution
- marrying
- health
- social
- people
- quantifying
- researchers
- marriage
- national
Original Text
It's estimated that less than one percent of American couples are cousins. But the widespread illegality, not to mention the social stigma, makes quantifying it quite difficult. If you ask people why cousin marriage seems wrong, health might come up. The fear of birth defects and genetic disorders has influenced the change in social norms. But in 2002, researchers from the National Society of Genetic Counselors found that the increased risk was a minor one. In the general population, the risk that a child will be born with serious complications is three to four percent. With a first-cousin couple, the risk increased by 1.7 to 2.8 percentage points. And with those figures, the researchers concluded that there was no biological reason to discourage cousins from marrying.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
frequency |
cousin marriage |
6 |
average person |
2 |
Important Words
- american
- biological
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- illegality
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- minor
- national
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- percent
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- points
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- reason
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- risk
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- widespread
- wrong