TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Amy Adkins: The myth of Icarus and Daedalus

Unscramble the Blue Letters

In moytaihgocll ancient Greece, soaring above Crete on wnigs made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nature. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and higher. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient Greece, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the pusmehinnt for mortals who attempted to cross it was sveere. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was highly regarded as a genius inventor, craftsman, and sopltucr in his hamnoled of Athens. He ieevtnnd carpentry and all the tools used for it. He designed the first bathhouse and the first dcane floor. He made sculptures so llikiefe that Hercules mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and celebrated, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. Worried that his nephew was a more skillful craftsman, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his seritod reputation, Daedalus was welcomed with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace technical advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alvie. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans control over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus challenged human limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's prized bull. Under this slepl, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With characteristic atuiacdy, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a hollow wooden cow so realistic that it foloed the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible piveerrosn of natural law. As punishment, Daedalus was forced to construct an ibnsepaalce lyintrbah beneath the palace for the mtuianor. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned dauedlas and his only son ircaus within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a genius inventor. While observing the birds that crlceid his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their pisorn as only birds or gods could do. Using feathers from the flokcs that perched on the twoer, and the wax from canldes, Daedalus constructed two prias of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flying too near the ocean would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they surely would die. Therefore, the key to their esapce would be in keeping to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first mtlaors ever to fly. While Daedalus stayed carefully to the miadwy course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of dniive power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus adncseed higher and higher, powerless to cnhgae his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun mlteed the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of deyfnig the natural laws of mortal men in the service of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their drpeuarte from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.

Open Cloze

In ____________ ancient Greece, soaring above Crete on _____ made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nature. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and higher. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient Greece, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the __________ for mortals who attempted to cross it was ______. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was highly regarded as a genius inventor, craftsman, and ________ in his ________ of Athens. He ________ carpentry and all the tools used for it. He designed the first bathhouse and the first _____ floor. He made sculptures so ________ that Hercules mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and celebrated, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. Worried that his nephew was a more skillful craftsman, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his _______ reputation, Daedalus was welcomed with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace technical advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed _____. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans control over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus challenged human limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's prized bull. Under this _____, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With characteristic ________, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a hollow wooden cow so realistic that it ______ the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible __________ of natural law. As punishment, Daedalus was forced to construct an ___________ _________ beneath the palace for the ________. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned ________ and his only son ______ within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a genius inventor. While observing the birds that _______ his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their ______ as only birds or gods could do. Using feathers from the ______ that perched on the _____, and the wax from _______, Daedalus constructed two _____ of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flying too near the ocean would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they surely would die. Therefore, the key to their ______ would be in keeping to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first _______ ever to fly. While Daedalus stayed carefully to the ______ course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of ______ power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus ________ higher and higher, powerless to ______ his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun ______ the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of _______ the natural laws of mortal men in the service of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their _________ from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.

Solution

wings
midway
inescapable
storied
minotaur
mortals
invented
pairs
sculptor
perversion
departure
spell
circled
change
fooled
daedalus
homeland
ascended
melted
mythological
tower
lifelike
icarus
defying
dance
prison
candles
alive
divine
audacity
severe
flocks
punishment
labyrinth
escape

Original Text

In mythological ancient Greece, soaring above Crete on wings made from wax and feathers, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, defied the laws of both man and nature. Ignoring the warnings of his father, he rose higher and higher. To witnesses on the ground, he looked like a god, and as he peered down from above, he felt like one, too. But, in mythological ancient Greece, the line that separated god from man was absolute and the punishment for mortals who attempted to cross it was severe. Such was the case for Icarus and Daedalus. Years before Icarus was born, his father Daedalus was highly regarded as a genius inventor, craftsman, and sculptor in his homeland of Athens. He invented carpentry and all the tools used for it. He designed the first bathhouse and the first dance floor. He made sculptures so lifelike that Hercules mistook them for actual men. Though skilled and celebrated, Daedalus was egotistical and jealous. Worried that his nephew was a more skillful craftsman, Daedalus murdered him. As punishment, Daedalus was banished from Athens and made his way to Crete. Preceded by his storied reputation, Daedalus was welcomed with open arms by Crete's King Minos. There, acting as the palace technical advisor, Daedalus continued to push the boundaries. For the king's children, he made mechanically animated toys that seemed alive. He invented the ship's sail and mast, which gave humans control over the wind. With every creation, Daedalus challenged human limitations that had so far kept mortals separate from gods, until finally, he broke right through. King Minos's wife, Pasiphaë, had been cursed by the god Poseidon to fall in love with the king's prized bull. Under this spell, she asked Daedalus to help her seduce it. With characteristic audacity, he agreed. Daedalus constructed a hollow wooden cow so realistic that it fooled the bull. With Pasiphaë hiding inside Daedalus's creation, she conceived and gave birth to the half-human half-bull minotaur. This, of course, enraged the king who blamed Daedalus for enabling such a horrible perversion of natural law. As punishment, Daedalus was forced to construct an inescapable labyrinth beneath the palace for the minotaur. When it was finished, Minos then imprisoned Daedalus and his only son Icarus within the top of the tallest tower on the island where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. But Daedalus was still a genius inventor. While observing the birds that circled his prison, the means for escape became clear. He and Icarus would fly away from their prison as only birds or gods could do. Using feathers from the flocks that perched on the tower, and the wax from candles, Daedalus constructed two pairs of giant wings. As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flying too near the ocean would dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would disintegrate. In either case, they surely would die. Therefore, the key to their escape would be in keeping to the middle. With the instructions clear, both men leapt from the tower. They were the first mortals ever to fly. While Daedalus stayed carefully to the midway course, Icarus was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it. Daedalus could only watch in horror as Icarus ascended higher and higher, powerless to change his son's dire fate. When the heat from the sun melted the wax on his wings, Icarus fell from the sky. Just as Daedalus had many times ignored the consequences of defying the natural laws of mortal men in the service of his ego, Icarus was also carried away by his own hubris. In the end, both men paid for their departure from the path of moderation dearly, Icarus with his life and Daedalus with his regret.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
mythological ancient	2
daedalus constructed	2

Important Words

absolute
acting
actual
advisor
agreed
alive
ancient
animated
arms
ascended
asked
athens
attempted
audacity
banished
bathhouse
beneath
birds
birth
blamed
born
boundaries
broke
bull
candles
carefully
carpentry
carried
case
celebrated
challenged
change
characteristic
children
circled
clear
conceived
consequences
construct
constructed
continued
control
cow
craftsman
creation
crete
cross
cursed
daedalus
dampen
dance
dearly
defied
defying
departure
designed
die
dire
disintegrate
divine
ecstasy
ego
egotistical
enabling
enraged
escape
fall
fate
father
feathers
feeling
fell
felt
finally
finished
flight
flocks
floor
fly
flying
fooled
forced
gave
genius
giant
god
gods
greece
ground
heat
heavy
hercules
hiding
higher
highly
hollow
homeland
horrible
horror
hubris
human
humans
icarus
ignoring
imprisoned
inescapable
instructions
invented
inventor
island
jealous
keeping
key
king
labyrinth
law
laws
leapt
life
lifelike
limitations
line
lives
looked
love
man
mast
means
mechanically
melt
melted
men
middle
midway
minos
minotaur
mistook
moderation
mortal
mortals
murdered
mythological
natural
nature
nephew
observing
ocean
open
overcome
overwhelmed
paid
pairs
palace
pasiphaë
path
peered
perched
perversion
poseidon
power
powerless
preceded
prison
prized
punishment
push
realistic
regarded
regret
remain
reputation
rest
rose
sail
sculptor
sculptures
seduce
separate
separated
service
severe
skilled
skillful
sky
soaring
son
spell
stayed
storied
strapped
sun
surely
tallest
technical
times
tools
top
tower
toys
warnings
watch
wax
welcomed
wife
wind
wings
witnesses
wooden
worried
years