full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Abdallah Ewis: The forgotten queen of Egypt

Unscramble the Blue Letters

When the crusaders attacked the Egyptian city of Al-Mansurah, eyigtapn soldiers ambushed the cerdrauss and took the fnerch king hostage. Meanwhile, the truth about the sultan’s death bgaen to leak. sjhaar Al-Durr invited her late husband’s son with another woman to claim the title of sultan. At first, both she and her mamaleek advisers supported her stepson’s cliam to the throne. But then he began threatening to elxie her and kill the mamaleek, making wild accusations about them. The mamaleek had served Shajar Al-Durr’s husband before her, and seen her capable rule so far. They thought she would make a better ruler than the unpredictable prince, and conspired with her to assassinate him.

Open Cloze

When the crusaders attacked the Egyptian city of Al-Mansurah, ________ soldiers ambushed the _________ and took the ______ king hostage. Meanwhile, the truth about the sultan’s death _____ to leak. ______ Al-Durr invited her late husband’s son with another woman to claim the title of sultan. At first, both she and her mamaleek advisers supported her stepson’s _____ to the throne. But then he began threatening to _____ her and kill the mamaleek, making wild accusations about them. The mamaleek had served Shajar Al-Durr’s husband before her, and seen her capable rule so far. They thought she would make a better ruler than the unpredictable prince, and conspired with her to assassinate him.

Solution

  1. crusaders
  2. egyptian
  3. shajar
  4. french
  5. began
  6. claim
  7. exile

Original Text

When the crusaders attacked the Egyptian city of Al-Mansurah, Egyptian soldiers ambushed the crusaders and took the French king hostage. Meanwhile, the truth about the sultan’s death began to leak. Shajar Al-Durr invited her late husband’s son with another woman to claim the title of sultan. At first, both she and her mamaleek advisers supported her stepson’s claim to the throne. But then he began threatening to exile her and kill the mamaleek, making wild accusations about them. The mamaleek had served Shajar Al-Durr’s husband before her, and seen her capable rule so far. They thought she would make a better ruler than the unpredictable prince, and conspired with her to assassinate him.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
french king 3
king louis 2
louis ix 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
king louis ix 2

Important Words

  1. accusations
  2. advisers
  3. ambushed
  4. assassinate
  5. attacked
  6. began
  7. capable
  8. city
  9. claim
  10. conspired
  11. crusaders
  12. death
  13. egyptian
  14. exile
  15. french
  16. hostage
  17. husband
  18. invited
  19. kill
  20. king
  21. late
  22. leak
  23. making
  24. mamaleek
  25. prince
  26. rule
  27. ruler
  28. served
  29. shajar
  30. soldiers
  31. son
  32. sultan
  33. supported
  34. thought
  35. threatening
  36. throne
  37. title
  38. truth
  39. unpredictable
  40. wild
  41. woman