full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Charles Anderson: Dragonflies that fly across oceans

Unscramble the Blue Letters

And I didn't think anything more of it until the following year, when it happened again, and then the year after that, and then the year after that. And I was a bit slow, I didn't really take too much notice. But I asked some Maldivian friends and caoguleels, and yes they come every year. And I asked people about them and yes, they knew, but they didn't know anything, where they came from, or anything. And again I didn't think too much of it. But slowly it beagn to dawn on me that something rather sipecal was happening.

Open Cloze

And I didn't think anything more of it until the following year, when it happened again, and then the year after that, and then the year after that. And I was a bit slow, I didn't really take too much notice. But I asked some Maldivian friends and __________, and yes they come every year. And I asked people about them and yes, they knew, but they didn't know anything, where they came from, or anything. And again I didn't think too much of it. But slowly it _____ to dawn on me that something rather _______ was happening.

Solution

  1. special
  2. colleagues
  3. began

Original Text

And I didn't think anything more of it until the following year, when it happened again, and then the year after that, and then the year after that. And I was a bit slow, I didn't really take too much notice. But I asked some Maldivian friends and colleagues, and yes they come every year. And I asked people about them and yes, they knew, but they didn't know anything, where they came from, or anything. And again I didn't think too much of it. But slowly it began to dawn on me that something rather special was happening.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
fresh water 8
northeast monsoon 6
southwest monsoon 5
blue whales 3
east africa 3
amur falcon 3
monsoon rain 2
coral reefs 2
sand banks 2
sea level 2
bit curious 2
rigorous scientific 2
front moves 2
seasonal rains 2
monsoon rains 2
seasonal rain 2
rains broke 2
summer rains 2
automatically carried 2
indian ocean 2
moves south 2

Important Words

  1. asked
  2. began
  3. bit
  4. colleagues
  5. dawn
  6. friends
  7. happened
  8. happening
  9. knew
  10. maldivian
  11. notice
  12. people
  13. slow
  14. slowly
  15. special
  16. year