full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Shabana Basij-Rasikh: Dare to educate Afghan girls
Unscramble the Blue Letters
I was very lucky to grow up in a family where education was prized and daughters were traseerud. My grandfather was an extraordinary man for his time. A tatol maverick from a reotme province of Afghanistan, he insisted that his daughter, my mom, go to school, and for that he was disowned by his father. But my educated mtheor became a teacher. There she is. She retired two years ago, only to turn our house into a school for girls and women in our noirheobghod. And my fhtaer — that's him — he was the first ever in his fmaliy to receive an education. There was no qitesoun that his children would receive an edcaoutin, including his daughters, despite the Taliban, despite the rsiks. To him, there was greater risk in not educating his children. During tlabain years, I remember there were times I would get so frustrated by our life and always being scared and not seeing a future. I would want to quit, but my father, he would say, "Listen, my daughter, you can lose everything you own in your life. Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home during a war. But the one thing that will always remain with you is what is here, and if we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees, we will. So do you still not want to continue?"
Open Cloze
I was very lucky to grow up in a family where education was prized and daughters were _________. My grandfather was an extraordinary man for his time. A _____ maverick from a ______ province of Afghanistan, he insisted that his daughter, my mom, go to school, and for that he was disowned by his father. But my educated ______ became a teacher. There she is. She retired two years ago, only to turn our house into a school for girls and women in our ____________. And my ______ — that's him — he was the first ever in his ______ to receive an education. There was no ________ that his children would receive an _________, including his daughters, despite the Taliban, despite the _____. To him, there was greater risk in not educating his children. During _______ years, I remember there were times I would get so frustrated by our life and always being scared and not seeing a future. I would want to quit, but my father, he would say, "Listen, my daughter, you can lose everything you own in your life. Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home during a war. But the one thing that will always remain with you is what is here, and if we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees, we will. So do you still not want to continue?"
Solution
- total
- neighborhood
- father
- treasured
- question
- remote
- mother
- taliban
- family
- education
- risks
Original Text
I was very lucky to grow up in a family where education was prized and daughters were treasured. My grandfather was an extraordinary man for his time. A total maverick from a remote province of Afghanistan, he insisted that his daughter, my mom, go to school, and for that he was disowned by his father. But my educated mother became a teacher. There she is. She retired two years ago, only to turn our house into a school for girls and women in our neighborhood. And my father — that's him — he was the first ever in his family to receive an education. There was no question that his children would receive an education, including his daughters, despite the Taliban, despite the risks. To him, there was greater risk in not educating his children. During Taliban years, I remember there were times I would get so frustrated by our life and always being scared and not seeing a future. I would want to quit, but my father, he would say, "Listen, my daughter, you can lose everything you own in your life. Your money can be stolen. You can be forced to leave your home during a war. But the one thing that will always remain with you is what is here, and if we have to sell our blood to pay your school fees, we will. So do you still not want to continue?"
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
frequency |
real school |
2 |
Important Words
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- time
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- total
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- women
- years