full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Kiana Hayeri: A photographic journey through the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Last April, I sat down on the cold cement folor of a prison with two teenage boys who were incarcerated for political charges, a loose term for helping the Taliban. 14-year-old Mohammad Asif had two brothers fhtinigg on two sides of the conflict, one for the Taliban and one for the army. He chose to flloow the path of the brother who was 16 when he joined the Taliban, and he was killed before he turned 20. I asekd both boys to imagine themselves in ten years. momhmaad Asif said nothing and shrugged. I challenged him to try harder and see himself beyond the soulless cells of the psiron. It took several tries. He enutallevy responded, "I don't know, I'll probably be dead."

Open Cloze

Last April, I sat down on the cold cement _____ of a prison with two teenage boys who were incarcerated for political charges, a loose term for helping the Taliban. 14-year-old Mohammad Asif had two brothers ________ on two sides of the conflict, one for the Taliban and one for the army. He chose to ______ the path of the brother who was 16 when he joined the Taliban, and he was killed before he turned 20. I _____ both boys to imagine themselves in ten years. ________ Asif said nothing and shrugged. I challenged him to try harder and see himself beyond the soulless cells of the ______. It took several tries. He __________ responded, "I don't know, I'll probably be dead."

Solution

  1. asked
  2. mohammad
  3. prison
  4. follow
  5. fighting
  6. eventually
  7. floor

Original Text

Last April, I sat down on the cold cement floor of a prison with two teenage boys who were incarcerated for political charges, a loose term for helping the Taliban. 14-year-old Mohammad Asif had two brothers fighting on two sides of the conflict, one for the Taliban and one for the army. He chose to follow the path of the brother who was 16 when he joined the Taliban, and he was killed before he turned 20. I asked both boys to imagine themselves in ten years. Mohammad Asif said nothing and shrugged. I challenged him to try harder and see himself beyond the soulless cells of the prison. It took several tries. He eventually responded, "I don't know, I'll probably be dead."

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
young men 3
american invasion 2
mohammad asif 2
militia unit 2
music school 2
taliban fighters 2

Important Words

  1. april
  2. army
  3. asif
  4. asked
  5. boys
  6. brother
  7. brothers
  8. cells
  9. cement
  10. challenged
  11. charges
  12. chose
  13. cold
  14. conflict
  15. dead
  16. eventually
  17. fighting
  18. floor
  19. follow
  20. harder
  21. helping
  22. imagine
  23. incarcerated
  24. joined
  25. killed
  26. loose
  27. mohammad
  28. path
  29. political
  30. prison
  31. responded
  32. sat
  33. shrugged
  34. sides
  35. soulless
  36. taliban
  37. teenage
  38. ten
  39. term
  40. turned
  41. years