TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen: What makes the Great Wall of China so extraordinary

Unscramble the Blue Letters

A 13,000 mile dragon of erath and stone winds its way through the countryside of China with a history almost as long and serpentine as the structure. The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed earth built by individual fuedal states during the Chunqiu prieod to protect against nomadic raiders north of China and each other. When Emperor Qin Shi hanug unified the states in 221 BCE, the Tibetan pltaeau and paiicfc Ocean became natural barriers, but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable to Mongol, tkisruh, and Xiongnu invasions. To defend against them, the Emperor expanded the salml walls built by his predecessors, connecting some and fortifying others. As the structures grew from Lintao in the west to ldanoiog in the east, they collectively became known as The Long Wall. To accomplish this task, the Emperor elsnetid slridoes and cmneormos, not always voluntarily. Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin dantysy, many were forcibly conscripted peasants and others were criminals serving out sentences. Under the Han Dynasty, the wall grew longer still, reaching 3700 miles, and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea. Forced lobar continued under the Han Emperor Han-Wudi , and the walls ruieoptatn grew into a nooiuotrs place of suffering. Poems and legends of the time told of laborers buried in nrbaey mass graves, or even within the wall itself. And while no hmaun rmienas have been found inside, gavre pits do indicate that many workers died from accidents, hunger and exhaustion. The wall was formidable but not invincible. Both Genghis and his son Khublai Khan managed to surmount the wall during the Mongol isviaonn of the 13th Century. After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368, they began to refortify and further consolidate the wall using bricks and stones from local kilns. Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by watchtowers. When raiders were sighted, fire and smoke signals traveled between tewros until reinforcements arrived. Small openings along the wall let archers fire on invaders, while larger ones were used to drop stones and more. But even this new and improved wall was not enough. In 1644, nthorren Manchu clnas overthrew the Ming to establish the Qing dynasty, incorporating Mongolia as well, Thus, for the second time, China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out. With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall, the fortifications lost their ppsorue. And without ralgeur reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair, rammed earth eroded, while brick and sntoe were plundered for building materials. But its job wasn't finished. During World War II, China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion, and some parts are still romeurd to be used for military training. But the Wall's main purpose tdaoy is cultural. As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth, it was gtraend unseco wolrd Heritage stuats in 1987. Originally built to keep people out of chnia, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of virotsis each year. In fact, the iunflx of tourists has ceasud the wall to deteriorate, leading the Chinese government to lnauch preservation initiatives. It's also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure viislbe from spcae. Unfortunately, that's not at all true. In low Earth obrit, all srtos of structures, like bridges, highways and airports are visible, and the Great Wall is only barely discernible. From the moon, it doesn't santd a cacnhe. But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from because new sections are still discovered every few years, branching off from the main body and expanding this remarkable mmnonuet to human achievement.

Open Cloze

A 13,000 mile dragon of _____ and stone winds its way through the countryside of China with a history almost as long and serpentine as the structure. The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed earth built by individual ______ states during the Chunqiu ______ to protect against nomadic raiders north of China and each other. When Emperor Qin Shi _____ unified the states in 221 BCE, the Tibetan _______ and _______ Ocean became natural barriers, but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable to Mongol, _______, and Xiongnu invasions. To defend against them, the Emperor expanded the _____ walls built by his predecessors, connecting some and fortifying others. As the structures grew from Lintao in the west to ________ in the east, they collectively became known as The Long Wall. To accomplish this task, the Emperor ________ ________ and _________, not always voluntarily. Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin _______, many were forcibly conscripted peasants and others were criminals serving out sentences. Under the Han Dynasty, the wall grew longer still, reaching 3700 miles, and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea. Forced _____ continued under the Han Emperor Han-Wudi , and the walls __________ grew into a _________ place of suffering. Poems and legends of the time told of laborers buried in ______ mass graves, or even within the wall itself. And while no _____ _______ have been found inside, _____ pits do indicate that many workers died from accidents, hunger and exhaustion. The wall was formidable but not invincible. Both Genghis and his son Khublai Khan managed to surmount the wall during the Mongol ________ of the 13th Century. After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368, they began to refortify and further consolidate the wall using bricks and stones from local kilns. Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by watchtowers. When raiders were sighted, fire and smoke signals traveled between ______ until reinforcements arrived. Small openings along the wall let archers fire on invaders, while larger ones were used to drop stones and more. But even this new and improved wall was not enough. In 1644, ________ Manchu _____ overthrew the Ming to establish the Qing dynasty, incorporating Mongolia as well, Thus, for the second time, China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out. With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall, the fortifications lost their _______. And without _______ reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair, rammed earth eroded, while brick and _____ were plundered for building materials. But its job wasn't finished. During World War II, China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion, and some parts are still _______ to be used for military training. But the Wall's main purpose _____ is cultural. As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth, it was _______ ______ _____ Heritage ______ in 1987. Originally built to keep people out of _____, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of ________ each year. In fact, the ______ of tourists has ______ the wall to deteriorate, leading the Chinese government to ______ preservation initiatives. It's also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure _______ from _____. Unfortunately, that's not at all true. In low Earth _____, all _____ of structures, like bridges, highways and airports are visible, and the Great Wall is only barely discernible. From the moon, it doesn't _____ a ______. But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from because new sections are still discovered every few years, branching off from the main body and expanding this remarkable ________ to human achievement.

Solution

regular
launch
period
purpose
pacific
small
caused
northern
human
stone
liaodong
orbit
chance
remains
enlisted
nearby
clans
influx
monument
huang
space
china
rumored
earth
soldiers
grave
commoners
visitors
today
invasion
plateau
feudal
towers
world
reputation
dynasty
notorious
unesco
labor
stand
turkish
sorts
status
visible
granted

Original Text

A 13,000 mile dragon of earth and stone winds its way through the countryside of China with a history almost as long and serpentine as the structure. The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed earth built by individual feudal states during the Chunqiu period to protect against nomadic raiders north of China and each other. When Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the states in 221 BCE, the Tibetan Plateau and Pacific Ocean became natural barriers, but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable to Mongol, Turkish, and Xiongnu invasions. To defend against them, the Emperor expanded the small walls built by his predecessors, connecting some and fortifying others. As the structures grew from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, they collectively became known as The Long Wall. To accomplish this task, the Emperor enlisted soldiers and commoners, not always voluntarily. Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin Dynasty, many were forcibly conscripted peasants and others were criminals serving out sentences. Under the Han Dynasty, the wall grew longer still, reaching 3700 miles, and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea. Forced labor continued under the Han Emperor Han-Wudi , and the walls reputation grew into a notorious place of suffering. Poems and legends of the time told of laborers buried in nearby mass graves, or even within the wall itself. And while no human remains have been found inside, grave pits do indicate that many workers died from accidents, hunger and exhaustion. The wall was formidable but not invincible. Both Genghis and his son Khublai Khan managed to surmount the wall during the Mongol invasion of the 13th Century. After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368, they began to refortify and further consolidate the wall using bricks and stones from local kilns. Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide, the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by watchtowers. When raiders were sighted, fire and smoke signals traveled between towers until reinforcements arrived. Small openings along the wall let archers fire on invaders, while larger ones were used to drop stones and more. But even this new and improved wall was not enough. In 1644, northern Manchu clans overthrew the Ming to establish the Qing dynasty, incorporating Mongolia as well, Thus, for the second time, China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out. With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall, the fortifications lost their purpose. And without regular reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair, rammed earth eroded, while brick and stone were plundered for building materials. But its job wasn't finished. During World War II, China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion, and some parts are still rumored to be used for military training. But the Wall's main purpose today is cultural. As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth, it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1987. Originally built to keep people out of China, the Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each year. In fact, the influx of tourists has caused the wall to deteriorate, leading the Chinese government to launch preservation initiatives. It's also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure visible from space. Unfortunately, that's not at all true. In low Earth orbit, all sorts of structures, like bridges, highways and airports are visible, and the Great Wall is only barely discernible. From the moon, it doesn't stand a chance. But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from because new sections are still discovered every few years, branching off from the main body and expanding this remarkable monument to human achievement.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
great wall	3
rammed earth	2

Important Words

accidents
acclaimed
accomplish
achievement
airports
archers
arrived
averaging
barely
barriers
bce
began
body
bohai
borders
branching
brick
bricks
bridges
builders
building
built
buried
caused
century
chance
china
chinese
chunqiu
clans
collectively
commoners
connecting
conscripted
consolidate
continued
control
countryside
criminals
cultural
defend
defense
deteriorate
died
discernible
discovered
disrepair
dragon
drop
dunhuang
dynasty
earth
east
emperor
enlisted
eroded
establish
exhaustion
expanded
expanding
extending
fact
feet
fell
feudal
finished
fire
forced
forcibly
formidable
fortifications
fortifying
gained
genghis
government
granted
grave
graves
great
grew
han
heritage
high
highways
history
huang
human
hundreds
hunger
ii
improved
incorporating
individual
influx
initiatives
invaders
invasion
invasions
invincible
japanese
job
khan
khublai
kilns
labor
laborers
larger
largest
launch
leading
legends
liaodong
lintao
local
long
longer
lost
main
managed
manchu
mass
materials
mile
miles
military
millions
ming
mongol
mongolia
monument
moon
mountains
multiple
natural
nearby
nomadic
north
northern
notorious
ocean
openings
orbit
originally
overthrew
pacific
parts
peasants
people
period
pits
place
plateau
plundered
poems
predecessors
preservation
protect
punctuated
purpose
qin
qing
raiders
rammed
reaching
recorded
refortify
regular
reinforcement
reinforcements
remained
remains
remarkable
reputation
ruled
rumored
sea
sections
sentences
serpentine
serving
shi
sighted
signals
small
smoke
soldiers
son
sorts
space
spanning
stand
states
status
stone
stones
structure
structures
studying
suffering
surmount
task
thousands
tibetan
time
today
told
tourists
towers
training
traveled
true
turkish
unesco
unified
visible
visitors
voluntarily
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wall
walls
war
watchtowers
welcomes
west
wide
winds
workers
world
xiongnu
year
years