full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Alex Gendler: The Egyptian myth of Isis and the seven scorpions

Unscramble the Blue Letters

A woman in rags egeremd from the swamp fklenad by seven giant scorpions. cayirnrg a baby, she headed for the nearest vigllae to beg for food.
She aphcreaopd a magnificent mansion, but the mistress of the house took one look at her grimy clothes and unusual companions and slammed the door in her face. So she continued down the road until she came to a cottage. The woman there took pity on the stranger and offered her what she could: a simple meal and a bed of straw.
Her guest was no ordinary beggar. She was Isis, the most powrfeul goddess in Egypt. Isis was in hiding from her brother Set, who murdered her hsbnuad and wanted to medrur her infant son, Horus. Set was also a powerful god, and he was looking for them. So to keep her cover, Isis had to be very discreet— she couldn’t risk using her powers. But she was not without aid. Serket, goddess of voenoums creatures, had sent seven of her fiercest srenatvs to garud Isis and her son.

Open Cloze

A woman in rags _______ from the swamp _______ by seven giant scorpions. ________ a baby, she headed for the nearest _______ to beg for food.
She __________ a magnificent mansion, but the mistress of the house took one look at her grimy clothes and unusual companions and slammed the door in her face. So she continued down the road until she came to a cottage. The woman there took pity on the stranger and offered her what she could: a simple meal and a bed of straw.
Her guest was no ordinary beggar. She was Isis, the most ________ goddess in Egypt. Isis was in hiding from her brother Set, who murdered her _______ and wanted to ______ her infant son, Horus. Set was also a powerful god, and he was looking for them. So to keep her cover, Isis had to be very discreet— she couldn’t risk using her powers. But she was not without aid. Serket, goddess of ________ creatures, had sent seven of her fiercest ________ to _____ Isis and her son.

Solution

  1. husband
  2. flanked
  3. emerged
  4. murder
  5. servants
  6. village
  7. approached
  8. carrying
  9. powerful
  10. guard
  11. venomous

Original Text

A woman in rags emerged from the swamp flanked by seven giant scorpions. Carrying a baby, she headed for the nearest village to beg for food.
She approached a magnificent mansion, but the mistress of the house took one look at her grimy clothes and unusual companions and slammed the door in her face. So she continued down the road until she came to a cottage. The woman there took pity on the stranger and offered her what she could: a simple meal and a bed of straw.
Her guest was no ordinary beggar. She was Isis, the most powerful goddess in Egypt. Isis was in hiding from her brother Set, who murdered her husband and wanted to murder her infant son, Horus. Set was also a powerful god, and he was looking for them. So to keep her cover, Isis had to be very discreet— she couldn’t risk using her powers. But she was not without aid. Serket, goddess of venomous creatures, had sent seven of her fiercest servants to guard Isis and her son.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

  1. aid
  2. approached
  3. baby
  4. bed
  5. beg
  6. beggar
  7. brother
  8. carrying
  9. clothes
  10. companions
  11. continued
  12. cottage
  13. cover
  14. creatures
  15. door
  16. egypt
  17. emerged
  18. face
  19. fiercest
  20. flanked
  21. food
  22. giant
  23. god
  24. goddess
  25. grimy
  26. guard
  27. guest
  28. headed
  29. hiding
  30. horus
  31. house
  32. husband
  33. infant
  34. isis
  35. magnificent
  36. mansion
  37. meal
  38. mistress
  39. murder
  40. murdered
  41. nearest
  42. offered
  43. ordinary
  44. pity
  45. powerful
  46. powers
  47. rags
  48. risk
  49. road
  50. scorpions
  51. serket
  52. servants
  53. set
  54. simple
  55. slammed
  56. son
  57. stranger
  58. straw
  59. swamp
  60. unusual
  61. venomous
  62. village
  63. wanted
  64. woman