full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Chetan Bhatt: Dare to refuse the origin myths that claim who you are

Unscramble the Blue Letters

There was a hndiu family that we got to know well — and you have to understand that life in our street was a little bit like the setting for an Asian soap opera. Everyone knew everyone else's business, even if they didn't want it to be known by anyone at all. You really had no choice in this matter. But in this family, there was a quiet little boy who went to the same school as I did, and after I left shoocl, I didn't hear much more about him, except that he'd gone off to idnia. Now around 2000, I remember seeing this short book. The book was unusual because it was weitrtn by a British supporter of Al Qaeda, and in it the autohr cllas for attacks in Britain. This is in 1999, so 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq was still in the future, and he helped souct New York bombing targets. He tuahgt others how to make a dirty bomb to use on the London Underground, and he plotted a massive bbniomg campaign in London's shopping areas. He's a very high-risk security prisoner in the UK and one of the most important Al Qaeda figures to be aresertd in Britain.

Open Cloze

There was a _____ family that we got to know well — and you have to understand that life in our street was a little bit like the setting for an Asian soap opera. Everyone knew everyone else's business, even if they didn't want it to be known by anyone at all. You really had no choice in this matter. But in this family, there was a quiet little boy who went to the same school as I did, and after I left ______, I didn't hear much more about him, except that he'd gone off to _____. Now around 2000, I remember seeing this short book. The book was unusual because it was _______ by a British supporter of Al Qaeda, and in it the ______ _____ for attacks in Britain. This is in 1999, so 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq was still in the future, and he helped _____ New York bombing targets. He ______ others how to make a dirty bomb to use on the London Underground, and he plotted a massive _______ campaign in London's shopping areas. He's a very high-risk security prisoner in the UK and one of the most important Al Qaeda figures to be ________ in Britain.

Solution

  1. taught
  2. scout
  3. author
  4. written
  5. india
  6. school
  7. calls
  8. arrested
  9. hindu
  10. bombing

Original Text

There was a Hindu family that we got to know well — and you have to understand that life in our street was a little bit like the setting for an Asian soap opera. Everyone knew everyone else's business, even if they didn't want it to be known by anyone at all. You really had no choice in this matter. But in this family, there was a quiet little boy who went to the same school as I did, and after I left school, I didn't hear much more about him, except that he'd gone off to India. Now around 2000, I remember seeing this short book. The book was unusual because it was written by a British supporter of Al Qaeda, and in it the author calls for attacks in Britain. This is in 1999, so 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq was still in the future, and he helped scout New York bombing targets. He taught others how to make a dirty bomb to use on the London Underground, and he plotted a massive bombing campaign in London's shopping areas. He's a very high-risk security prisoner in the UK and one of the most important Al Qaeda figures to be arrested in Britain.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
al qaeda 5
origin stories 3
identity myths 3
national front 3
muslim backgrounds 3
ethnic disputes 2
origin myth 2
primordial origin 2
origin myths 2
young men 2
islamic state 2
salafi jihadi 2
jihadi groups 2
hindu fundamentalist 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
salafi jihadi groups 2

Important Words

  1. al
  2. areas
  3. arrested
  4. asian
  5. attacks
  6. author
  7. bit
  8. bomb
  9. bombing
  10. book
  11. boy
  12. britain
  13. british
  14. business
  15. calls
  16. campaign
  17. choice
  18. dirty
  19. family
  20. figures
  21. future
  22. hear
  23. helped
  24. hindu
  25. important
  26. india
  27. invasion
  28. iraq
  29. knew
  30. left
  31. life
  32. london
  33. massive
  34. matter
  35. opera
  36. plotted
  37. prisoner
  38. qaeda
  39. quiet
  40. remember
  41. school
  42. scout
  43. security
  44. setting
  45. shopping
  46. short
  47. soap
  48. street
  49. supporter
  50. targets
  51. taught
  52. uk
  53. underground
  54. understand
  55. unusual
  56. written
  57. york