TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Benedetta Berti and Evelien Borgman: What does it mean to be a refugee?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Around the globe, there are approximately 60 million people who have been forced to leave their homes to escape war, violence, and persecution. The majority of them have become internally displaced persons, which means they have fled their homes but are still within their own countries. Others have crossed a border and sought shelter outside of their own countries. They are commonly referred to as refugees. But what exactly does that term mean? The world has known refugees for millennia, but the modern definition was drafted in the UN's 1951 Convention relating to the suatts of refugees in response to mass persecutions and displacements of the Second World War. It defines a refugee as someone who is outside their country of nationality, and is unable to return to their home crntuoy because of well-founded fears of being persecuted. That persecution may be due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or pitoalcil opinion, and is often related to war and violence. Today, roughly half the world's refugees are children, some of them unaccompanied by an adult, a situation that makes them especially vulnerable to cilhd labor or sexual epoitxtoailn. Each refugee's story is different, and many must undergo dangerous jenyuors with uncertain outcomes. But before we get to what their journeys involve, let's clear one thing up. There's a lot of confusion regarding the dfnciefere between the terms "migrant" and "refugee." "Migrants" usually rreefs to people who leave their country for rasneos not related to persecution, such as sahcrieng for better economic opportunities or livnaeg drought-stricken areas in search of better circumstances. There are many people around the world who have been displaced because of natural disasters, food insecurities, and other hardships, but international law, rightly or wrongly, only rgzcneeios those fleeing conflict and violence as refugees. So what happens when someone flees their country? Most refugee journeys are long and preloius with lieitmd access to shelter, water, or food. Since the departure can be sudden and unexpected, bgnginoles might be left behind, and people who are evading clioncft often do not have the required documents, like visas, to board airplanes and legally enter other countries. Financial and political factors can also pernevt them from traveling by standard routes. This means they can usually only travel by land or sea, and may need to ertusnt their lives to slmurgegs to help them cross borders. Whereas some ppolee seek safety with their families, others attempt passage alone and leave their loved ones behind with the hopes of being reunited later. This separation can be traumatic and unbearably long. While more than half the world's refguees are in cities, sometimes the first stop for a pesorn fleeing conflict is a refugee camp, usually run by the United nniaots Refugee Agency or lcaol governments. Refugee cpams are intended to be temporary structures, offering short-term shelter until inhabitants can safely rtuern home, be integrated to the host country, or resettle in another country. But rseetetmnelt and long-term integration options are often limited. So many refugees are left with no chioce but to remain in camps for years and sometimes even decades. Once in a new country, the first legal step for a displaced person is to apply for asylum. At this point, they are an asylum seeker and not officially recognized as a refugee until the application has been accepted. While countries by and large agree on one definition of refugee, every host country is responsible for examining all requests for asyulm and deciding whether alcapitnps can be granted the status of regefue. Different countries guidelines can vary substantially. Host cirnteuos have several duties towards people they have rigzeoecnd as refugees, like the guarantee of a minimum standard of treatment and non-discrimination. The most basic obligation towards refugees is non-refoulement, a principle preventing a nation from sending an individual to a country where their life and freedom are threatened. In reality, however, refugees are frequently the victims of inconsistent and danmstoriicriy tatmreent. They're increasingly obliged to rebuild their lives in the face of xenophobia and racism. And all too often, they aren't permitted to enter the work force and are fully dependent on humanitarian aid. In addition, far too many refugee crlhiedn are out of socohl due to lack of funding for education programs. If you go back in your own faimly history, chances are you will discover that at a certain piont, your ancestors were forced from their hemos, either escaping a war or fenelig discrimination and poceseuirtn. It would be good of us to remember their stories when we hear of refugees currently displaced, searching for a new home.

Open Cloze

Around the globe, there are approximately 60 million people who have been forced to leave their homes to escape war, violence, and persecution. The majority of them have become internally displaced persons, which means they have fled their homes but are still within their own countries. Others have crossed a border and sought shelter outside of their own countries. They are commonly referred to as refugees. But what exactly does that term mean? The world has known refugees for millennia, but the modern definition was drafted in the UN's 1951 Convention relating to the ______ of refugees in response to mass persecutions and displacements of the Second World War. It defines a refugee as someone who is outside their country of nationality, and is unable to return to their home _______ because of well-founded fears of being persecuted. That persecution may be due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or _________ opinion, and is often related to war and violence. Today, roughly half the world's refugees are children, some of them unaccompanied by an adult, a situation that makes them especially vulnerable to _____ labor or sexual ____________. Each refugee's story is different, and many must undergo dangerous ________ with uncertain outcomes. But before we get to what their journeys involve, let's clear one thing up. There's a lot of confusion regarding the __________ between the terms "migrant" and "refugee." "Migrants" usually ______ to people who leave their country for _______ not related to persecution, such as _________ for better economic opportunities or _______ drought-stricken areas in search of better circumstances. There are many people around the world who have been displaced because of natural disasters, food insecurities, and other hardships, but international law, rightly or wrongly, only __________ those fleeing conflict and violence as refugees. So what happens when someone flees their country? Most refugee journeys are long and ________ with _______ access to shelter, water, or food. Since the departure can be sudden and unexpected, __________ might be left behind, and people who are evading ________ often do not have the required documents, like visas, to board airplanes and legally enter other countries. Financial and political factors can also _______ them from traveling by standard routes. This means they can usually only travel by land or sea, and may need to _______ their lives to _________ to help them cross borders. Whereas some ______ seek safety with their families, others attempt passage alone and leave their loved ones behind with the hopes of being reunited later. This separation can be traumatic and unbearably long. While more than half the world's ________ are in cities, sometimes the first stop for a ______ fleeing conflict is a refugee camp, usually run by the United _______ Refugee Agency or _____ governments. Refugee _____ are intended to be temporary structures, offering short-term shelter until inhabitants can safely ______ home, be integrated to the host country, or resettle in another country. But ____________ and long-term integration options are often limited. So many refugees are left with no ______ but to remain in camps for years and sometimes even decades. Once in a new country, the first legal step for a displaced person is to apply for asylum. At this point, they are an asylum seeker and not officially recognized as a refugee until the application has been accepted. While countries by and large agree on one definition of refugee, every host country is responsible for examining all requests for ______ and deciding whether __________ can be granted the status of _______. Different countries guidelines can vary substantially. Host _________ have several duties towards people they have __________ as refugees, like the guarantee of a minimum standard of treatment and non-discrimination. The most basic obligation towards refugees is non-refoulement, a principle preventing a nation from sending an individual to a country where their life and freedom are threatened. In reality, however, refugees are frequently the victims of inconsistent and ______________ _________. They're increasingly obliged to rebuild their lives in the face of xenophobia and racism. And all too often, they aren't permitted to enter the work force and are fully dependent on humanitarian aid. In addition, far too many refugee ________ are out of ______ due to lack of funding for education programs. If you go back in your own ______ history, chances are you will discover that at a certain _____, your ancestors were forced from their _____, either escaping a war or _______ discrimination and ___________. It would be good of us to remember their stories when we hear of refugees currently displaced, searching for a new home.

Solution

journeys
conflict
point
perilous
status
camps
refers
refugees
entrust
difference
child
asylum
recognizes
person
belongings
persecution
limited
applicants
school
prevent
country
discriminatory
homes
people
refugee
return
recognized
reasons
searching
treatment
exploitation
family
children
nations
fleeing
local
countries
choice
leaving
resettlement
political
smugglers

Original Text

Around the globe, there are approximately 60 million people who have been forced to leave their homes to escape war, violence, and persecution. The majority of them have become internally displaced persons, which means they have fled their homes but are still within their own countries. Others have crossed a border and sought shelter outside of their own countries. They are commonly referred to as refugees. But what exactly does that term mean? The world has known refugees for millennia, but the modern definition was drafted in the UN's 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees in response to mass persecutions and displacements of the Second World War. It defines a refugee as someone who is outside their country of nationality, and is unable to return to their home country because of well-founded fears of being persecuted. That persecution may be due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and is often related to war and violence. Today, roughly half the world's refugees are children, some of them unaccompanied by an adult, a situation that makes them especially vulnerable to child labor or sexual exploitation. Each refugee's story is different, and many must undergo dangerous journeys with uncertain outcomes. But before we get to what their journeys involve, let's clear one thing up. There's a lot of confusion regarding the difference between the terms "migrant" and "refugee." "Migrants" usually refers to people who leave their country for reasons not related to persecution, such as searching for better economic opportunities or leaving drought-stricken areas in search of better circumstances. There are many people around the world who have been displaced because of natural disasters, food insecurities, and other hardships, but international law, rightly or wrongly, only recognizes those fleeing conflict and violence as refugees. So what happens when someone flees their country? Most refugee journeys are long and perilous with limited access to shelter, water, or food. Since the departure can be sudden and unexpected, belongings might be left behind, and people who are evading conflict often do not have the required documents, like visas, to board airplanes and legally enter other countries. Financial and political factors can also prevent them from traveling by standard routes. This means they can usually only travel by land or sea, and may need to entrust their lives to smugglers to help them cross borders. Whereas some people seek safety with their families, others attempt passage alone and leave their loved ones behind with the hopes of being reunited later. This separation can be traumatic and unbearably long. While more than half the world's refugees are in cities, sometimes the first stop for a person fleeing conflict is a refugee camp, usually run by the United Nations Refugee Agency or local governments. Refugee camps are intended to be temporary structures, offering short-term shelter until inhabitants can safely return home, be integrated to the host country, or resettle in another country. But resettlement and long-term integration options are often limited. So many refugees are left with no choice but to remain in camps for years and sometimes even decades. Once in a new country, the first legal step for a displaced person is to apply for asylum. At this point, they are an asylum seeker and not officially recognized as a refugee until the application has been accepted. While countries by and large agree on one definition of refugee, every host country is responsible for examining all requests for asylum and deciding whether applicants can be granted the status of refugee. Different countries guidelines can vary substantially. Host countries have several duties towards people they have recognized as refugees, like the guarantee of a minimum standard of treatment and non-discrimination. The most basic obligation towards refugees is non-refoulement, a principle preventing a nation from sending an individual to a country where their life and freedom are threatened. In reality, however, refugees are frequently the victims of inconsistent and discriminatory treatment. They're increasingly obliged to rebuild their lives in the face of xenophobia and racism. And all too often, they aren't permitted to enter the work force and are fully dependent on humanitarian aid. In addition, far too many refugee children are out of school due to lack of funding for education programs. If you go back in your own family history, chances are you will discover that at a certain point, your ancestors were forced from their homes, either escaping a war or fleeing discrimination and persecution. It would be good of us to remember their stories when we hear of refugees currently displaced, searching for a new home.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
fleeing conflict	2

Important Words

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