full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Alex Gendler: Why should you read "Crime and Punishment"?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

First seezaiirld in a literary magazine in 1866, the novel tells the srtoy of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a young law student in Saint Petersburg. rlakiksnoov lives in ajebct poverty, and at the start of the story has run out of funds to continue his studies. lettres from his rural home only add to his distress when he realizes how much his mother and sister have sacrificed for his success. Increasingly dtepesare after selling the last of his valuables to an elderly pawnbroker, he resolves on a plan to murder and rob her. But the impact of caryring out this unthinkable act proves to be more than he was prepared for.

Open Cloze

First __________ in a literary magazine in 1866, the novel tells the _____ of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a young law student in Saint Petersburg. ___________ lives in ______ poverty, and at the start of the story has run out of funds to continue his studies. _______ from his rural home only add to his distress when he realizes how much his mother and sister have sacrificed for his success. Increasingly _________ after selling the last of his valuables to an elderly pawnbroker, he resolves on a plan to murder and rob her. But the impact of ________ out this unthinkable act proves to be more than he was prepared for.

Solution

  1. story
  2. serialized
  3. desperate
  4. carrying
  5. raskolnikov
  6. abject
  7. letters

Original Text

First serialized in a literary magazine in 1866, the novel tells the story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a young law student in Saint Petersburg. Raskolnikov lives in abject poverty, and at the start of the story has run out of funds to continue his studies. Letters from his rural home only add to his distress when he realizes how much his mother and sister have sacrificed for his success. Increasingly desperate after selling the last of his valuables to an elderly pawnbroker, he resolves on a plan to murder and rob her. But the impact of carrying out this unthinkable act proves to be more than he was prepared for.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
saint petersburg 2

Important Words

  1. abject
  2. act
  3. add
  4. carrying
  5. continue
  6. desperate
  7. distress
  8. elderly
  9. funds
  10. home
  11. impact
  12. increasingly
  13. law
  14. letters
  15. literary
  16. lives
  17. magazine
  18. mother
  19. murder
  20. pawnbroker
  21. petersburg
  22. plan
  23. poverty
  24. prepared
  25. proves
  26. raskolnikov
  27. realizes
  28. resolves
  29. rob
  30. rodion
  31. romanovich
  32. run
  33. rural
  34. sacrificed
  35. saint
  36. selling
  37. serialized
  38. sister
  39. start
  40. story
  41. student
  42. studies
  43. success
  44. tells
  45. unthinkable
  46. valuables
  47. young