full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Cameron Sinclair: The refugees of boom-and-bust

Unscramble the Blue Letters

In the last six motnhs, more than 300 skyscrapers in the UAE have been put on hold or claceend. Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker. 1.1 million of them. Mainly Indian, ptakniasi, Sri Lankan and Nepalese, these leorbras risk everything to make money for their families back home. They pay a middle-man thousands of dollars to be there. And when they arrive, they find themselves in labor cmpas with no water, no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.

Open Cloze

In the last six ______, more than 300 skyscrapers in the UAE have been put on hold or ________. Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker. 1.1 million of them. Mainly Indian, _________, Sri Lankan and Nepalese, these ________ risk everything to make money for their families back home. They pay a middle-man thousands of dollars to be there. And when they arrive, they find themselves in labor _____ with no water, no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.

Solution

  1. months
  2. camps
  3. pakistani
  4. canceled
  5. laborers

Original Text

In the last six months, more than 300 skyscrapers in the UAE have been put on hold or canceled. Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker. 1.1 million of them. Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Nepalese, these laborers risk everything to make money for their families back home. They pay a middle-man thousands of dollars to be there. And when they arrive, they find themselves in labor camps with no water, no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
labor camps 2
financial collapse 2

Important Words

  1. air
  2. arrive
  3. buildings
  4. camps
  5. canceled
  6. conditioning
  7. construction
  8. dollars
  9. families
  10. fate
  11. find
  12. headlines
  13. hold
  14. home
  15. indian
  16. labor
  17. laborers
  18. lankan
  19. lay
  20. million
  21. money
  22. months
  23. nepalese
  24. pakistani
  25. passports
  26. pay
  27. put
  28. risk
  29. skyscrapers
  30. sri
  31. thousands
  32. uae
  33. water
  34. worker