full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Iseult Gillespie: The myth of Jason, Medea, and the Golden Fleece

Unscramble the Blue Letters

In the center of Colchis in an enchanted garden, the hide of a mystical flying ram hung from the tseallt oak, guarded by a dragon who never slept. jaosn would have to tread carefully to pry it from King Aeetes’ clutches and win back his promised throne. But dialcpomy was hardly one of the Argonauts’ sthgnrets. Jason would have to ntviaage this difficult task alone. Or so he toghhut.
laenivg most of his bedraggled crew to rest, Jason made for the palace with some of his more even-tempered men. His first instinct was to simply ask the king for his prized possession. But Aeetes was enraged at the hero’s ppeoumistrn. If this outsider wanted his treasure, he would have to prove his worth by facing three perilous tasks.

Open Cloze

In the center of Colchis in an enchanted garden, the hide of a mystical flying ram hung from the _______ oak, guarded by a dragon who never slept. _____ would have to tread carefully to pry it from King Aeetes’ clutches and win back his promised throne. But _________ was hardly one of the Argonauts’ _________. Jason would have to ________ this difficult task alone. Or so he _______.
_______ most of his bedraggled crew to rest, Jason made for the palace with some of his more even-tempered men. His first instinct was to simply ask the king for his prized possession. But Aeetes was enraged at the hero’s ___________. If this outsider wanted his treasure, he would have to prove his worth by facing three perilous tasks.

Solution

  1. strengths
  2. diplomacy
  3. presumption
  4. tallest
  5. jason
  6. navigate
  7. leaving
  8. thought

Original Text

In the center of Colchis in an enchanted garden, the hide of a mystical flying ram hung from the tallest oak, guarded by a dragon who never slept. Jason would have to tread carefully to pry it from King Aeetes’ clutches and win back his promised throne. But diplomacy was hardly one of the Argonauts’ strengths. Jason would have to navigate this difficult task alone. Or so he thought.
Leaving most of his bedraggled crew to rest, Jason made for the palace with some of his more even-tempered men. His first instinct was to simply ask the king for his prized possession. But Aeetes was enraged at the hero’s presumption. If this outsider wanted his treasure, he would have to prove his worth by facing three perilous tasks.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

  1. aeetes
  2. bedraggled
  3. carefully
  4. center
  5. clutches
  6. colchis
  7. crew
  8. difficult
  9. diplomacy
  10. dragon
  11. enchanted
  12. enraged
  13. facing
  14. flying
  15. garden
  16. guarded
  17. hide
  18. hung
  19. instinct
  20. jason
  21. king
  22. leaving
  23. men
  24. mystical
  25. navigate
  26. oak
  27. outsider
  28. palace
  29. perilous
  30. possession
  31. presumption
  32. prized
  33. promised
  34. prove
  35. pry
  36. ram
  37. rest
  38. simply
  39. slept
  40. strengths
  41. tallest
  42. task
  43. tasks
  44. thought
  45. throne
  46. tread
  47. treasure
  48. wanted
  49. win
  50. worth