full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: The myth of Hades and Persephone
Unscramble the Blue Letters
When Persephone ascended to Earth, she and her mother rejoiced. Together, they showered the fields with rain and nurtured them with sun. For mortals, Persephone’s arrival came to herald the start of spring. But her descent always came too soon. Each time she returned to Hades, Demeter mourned, and the erath grew cold, dark, and uyilniedng, ushering in the winter months. Knowing Demeter couldn’t be roused from her grief, the hmunas seotrd their crops, soektd their feirs, and aaeiwtd Persephone’s safe return. And so it was that her transit marked the gradual tirnung of the seasons and the bittersweet compromise between life and death.
Open Cloze
When Persephone ascended to Earth, she and her mother rejoiced. Together, they showered the fields with rain and nurtured them with sun. For mortals, Persephone’s arrival came to herald the start of spring. But her descent always came too soon. Each time she returned to Hades, Demeter mourned, and the _____ grew cold, dark, and __________, ushering in the winter months. Knowing Demeter couldn’t be roused from her grief, the ______ ______ their crops, ______ their _____, and _______ Persephone’s safe return. And so it was that her transit marked the gradual _______ of the seasons and the bittersweet compromise between life and death.
Solution
- earth
- awaited
- stored
- turning
- stoked
- fires
- humans
- unyielding
Original Text
When Persephone ascended to Earth, she and her mother rejoiced. Together, they showered the fields with rain and nurtured them with sun. For mortals, Persephone’s arrival came to herald the start of spring. But her descent always came too soon. Each time she returned to Hades, Demeter mourned, and the earth grew cold, dark, and unyielding, ushering in the winter months. Knowing Demeter couldn’t be roused from her grief, the humans stored their crops, stoked their fires, and awaited Persephone’s safe return. And so it was that her transit marked the gradual turning of the seasons and the bittersweet compromise between life and death.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
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demeter sped |
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mount olympus |
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Important Words
- arrival
- ascended
- awaited
- bittersweet
- cold
- compromise
- crops
- dark
- death
- demeter
- descent
- earth
- fields
- fires
- gradual
- grew
- grief
- hades
- herald
- humans
- knowing
- life
- marked
- months
- mortals
- mother
- mourned
- nurtured
- persephone
- rain
- rejoiced
- return
- returned
- roused
- safe
- seasons
- showered
- spring
- start
- stoked
- stored
- sun
- time
- transit
- turning
- unyielding
- ushering
- winter