Question

an elemental tale: the gold dust kid
the kid mounted his trusty steed, old b________. his shooting fe______ strapped to his side, he headed out for the bright ne______ lights of toronto, aiming to rob the mid - day stage. there was sure to be a load of precious u______ aboard, and probably k______, too. inhaling a deep breath of o______ he coughed on the s______ from the nearby mills. since the hg______ was climbing, he quenched his thirst with some h₂o, tasting the cl______ all big cities like brockville had. as he headed north his bones ached from ca______ deposits built up over the years of riding the zn________ trail.
overhead a he________ - filled balloon floated in the breeze; the sun beat down like burning p________.
soon he spotted the stage, guarded only by a sheriff with a sn________ badge. \halt, \ he yelled. \or ill fill you full of pb______. \ the sheriff drew his gun, but alas, was too slow. the kids gun, blazing like flaming mg______ did the cu______ in. anyone who drew on the kid should know his life wasnt worth a plugged ni______. a pt______ blonde riding beside the al______ - framed coach rode for her life when the kid pulled out some n________ compounds, preparing to blow the safe to atoms.
suddenly, a shout rang out, \hi ho ag________ and a masked man on a white horse raced across the si______ sands like na______ skittering on h₂o. a h______ bomb would not have stopped the lawman; the kid had met his doom. the rest of his life was to be spent behind co______ steel bars, a warning to all who flirt with danger. your first detention may be the initial step in a c______ copy life of the saga of the au________ dust kid.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall element symbols and names

Use knowledge of the periodic table where each symbol corresponds to an element name. For example, B is Boron, Fe is Iron, Ne is Neon, U is Uranium, K is Potassium, O is Oxygen, S is Sulfur, Hg is Mercury, Cl is Chlorine, Ca is Calcium, Zn is Zinc, He is Helium, P is Phosphorus, Sn is Tin, Pb is Lead, Mg is Magnesium, Cu is Copper, Ni is Nickel, Pt is Platinum, Al is Aluminum, N is Nitrogen, Ag is Silver, Si is Silicon, Na is Sodium, H is Hydrogen, Co is Cobalt, C is Carbon, Au is Gold.

Step2: Fill in the blanks

Based on the context of the story and the element symbols:

• [B] Boron
• [Fe] Iron
• [Ne] Neon
• [U] Uranium
• [K] Potassium
• [O] Oxygen
• [S] Sulfur
• [Hg] Mercury
• [Cl] Chlorine
• [Ca] Calcium
• [Zn] Zinc
• [He] Helium
• [P] Phosphorus
• [Sn] Tin
• [Pb] Lead
• [Mg] Magnesium
• [Cu] Copper
• [Ni] Nickel
• [Pt] Platinum
• [Al] Aluminum
• [N] Nitrogen
• [Ag] Silver
• [Si] Silicon
• [Na] Sodium
• [H] Hydrogen
• [Co] Cobalt
• [C] Carbon
• [Au] Gold

Answer:

Boron, Iron, Neon, Uranium, Potassium, Oxygen, Sulfur, Mercury, Chlorine, Calcium, Zinc, Helium, Phosphorus, Tin, Lead, Magnesium, Copper, Nickel, Platinum, Aluminum, Nitrogen, Silver, Silicon, Sodium, Hydrogen, Cobalt, Carbon, Gold