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

  1. earth
  2. awaited
  3. stored
  4. turning
  5. stoked
  6. fires
  7. humans
  8. 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 frequency
demeter sped 2
mount olympus 2

Important Words

  1. arrival
  2. ascended
  3. awaited
  4. bittersweet
  5. cold
  6. compromise
  7. crops
  8. dark
  9. death
  10. demeter
  11. descent
  12. earth
  13. fields
  14. fires
  15. gradual
  16. grew
  17. grief
  18. hades
  19. herald
  20. humans
  21. knowing
  22. life
  23. marked
  24. months
  25. mortals
  26. mother
  27. mourned
  28. nurtured
  29. persephone
  30. rain
  31. rejoiced
  32. return
  33. returned
  34. roused
  35. safe
  36. seasons
  37. showered
  38. spring
  39. start
  40. stoked
  41. stored
  42. sun
  43. time
  44. transit
  45. turning
  46. unyielding
  47. ushering
  48. winter