full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: The Japanese folktale of the selfish scholar

Unscramble the Blue Letters

He soon came to a cramped cottage, with a woman crumpled outside. felild with pity, the scholar implored the woman to share her sorrow. She elpineaxd that her mother had just died— but no one would help her with the burial. At that news, his heart sank. Touching the body would defile his spirit, diannrig his life force and leaving him forsaken by the kami. But as he listened to her cries, his smpayhty sraeod. And so, they buried the old wmaon together, to ensure her safe passage into the spirit world.

Open Cloze

He soon came to a cramped cottage, with a woman crumpled outside. ______ with pity, the scholar implored the woman to share her sorrow. She _________ that her mother had just died— but no one would help her with the burial. At that news, his heart sank. Touching the body would defile his spirit, ________ his life force and leaving him forsaken by the kami. But as he listened to her cries, his ________ ______. And so, they buried the old _____ together, to ensure her safe passage into the spirit world.

Solution

  1. explained
  2. woman
  3. sympathy
  4. draining
  5. filled
  6. soared

Original Text

He soon came to a cramped cottage, with a woman crumpled outside. Filled with pity, the scholar implored the woman to share her sorrow. She explained that her mother had just died— but no one would help her with the burial. At that news, his heart sank. Touching the body would defile his spirit, draining his life force and leaving him forsaken by the kami. But as he listened to her cries, his sympathy soared. And so, they buried the old woman together, to ensure her safe passage into the spirit world.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
spirit world 2

Important Words

  1. body
  2. burial
  3. buried
  4. cottage
  5. cramped
  6. cries
  7. crumpled
  8. defile
  9. draining
  10. ensure
  11. explained
  12. filled
  13. force
  14. forsaken
  15. heart
  16. implored
  17. kami
  18. leaving
  19. life
  20. listened
  21. mother
  22. news
  23. passage
  24. pity
  25. safe
  26. sank
  27. scholar
  28. share
  29. soared
  30. sorrow
  31. spirit
  32. sympathy
  33. touching
  34. woman
  35. world