Американские ученые настаивают на реальности нло

Группа американских ученых, объединенных в так называемый «Проект Дискавери», утверждает, что НЛО существуют на самом деле. Как сообщает телекомпания Си-Эн-Эн, возглавляющий «Проект Дискавери» доктор Стивен Грир обратился в конгресс США с требованием организовать слушание по проблеме НЛО.

Группа «Проект Дискавери», в которую, как передает РИА «Новости», наряду с учеными входят также бывшие работники НАСА и Пентагона, с 1993 года ведет сбор документальных материалов, подтверждающих существование НЛО.

На сегодня группа располагает видеозаписями показаний 100 очевидцев, в том числе бывших пилотов НАСА и космонавтов, в которых подтверждаются непосредственные контакты с «пришельцами» и дается описание их летательных аппаратов.

Рассмотрение конгрессом вопроса о НЛО, по мнению доктора Грира, имеет огромное значение, поскольку речь идет о существовании и возможных контактах землян с представителями разума из других миров.

Helpful vocabulary

Persist in (утверждать, настаивать), apply to (обратиться), hearing (of) (слушание), eye-witness account (показания очевидцев), including (в том числе), inhabitants of the Earth (земляне), extraterrestrial intelligence (разум других миров).

Text 2

Pre-reading task

Do you believe in aliens?

What would you do if you saw an alien?

Would you talk to it? Would you call the police?

Reading

1. Read the text quickly and answer the following questions:

Which of the following words would you expect to find in the text with the above title?

When you check your choice against the text give line reference to any you find:

flying saucer, satellite, atmosphere, strange objects, telescope, celestial objects, planetary system, pick up signals, aircraft, stars, unexplained phenomenon, humanity.

2. What is the significance of the following numbers in the text?

150, 1977, 27

Alien Hunt

This is a nervy time for the alien hunters. Among the five billion radio signals collected over the past four years by the Arecibo radio telescope, there are 150 that defy rational scien­tific explanation.

These radio signals do not appear to come from Earth, or from satel­lites above the Earth, or from other known radio sources in the universe. They have also been spotted by other telescopes around the world. They could be emanating from a planetary system like our own. In other words, there is a vanishingly small – but not zero – possibility that one of these radio signals could have come from extraterrestrial civilization.

The Arecibo telescope is the larg­est and most powerful radio telescope in the world (the size of 26 football pitches).

That the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Seti) has come this far is a tribute not only to an elite band of obsessed astronomers, convinced that we keep intergalactic company, but also to millions of citizens who allowed their personal computers to be used to sift through data. Dr Dan Werthimer is the chief scientist of the seti@home project, the largest distributed computing program yet undertaken.

Scti@home is just one of a num­ber of projects that has searched for alien life. In 1977, scientists thought they had struck lucky. The promising candidate was the Wow signal, picked up by researchers at Ohio State Uni­versity, and so named after a profes­sor scribbled the exclamation next to a printout of the signal.

"It's been checked out thousands of times, but nobody's found it again," sighs Wertuimer. "It did look prom­ising - it was a peculiar signal. But if you search through billions of signals, you're bound to find one that seems odd. But it looks like it was a one-off noise glitch."

That doesn't put off Werthimer, who has been searching for ET for 27 years. He accepts that one has to be an optimist to believe that any signals are evidence of another populated world. First, the aliens have to exist. Con­ceptually, that isn't a problem - the scientific consensus is that, among the billions of stars in the universe, it would be highly improbable for Earth to be the only rock to harbour some kind of life.

Next, another civilisation would have to communicate by radio. It is a convenient method — radio waves travel at light speed, and can cut through thick dust clouds relatively unimpeded. But the Arecibo dish does not have the capacity to scan for every wavelength in every region of the sky. So the signal might be out there, but never get picked up. Werthimer thinks that another civilization might well use a more advanced method of commu­nication, currently unknown to us (as radio was, more than a century ago). As well as radio signals, astronomers are also looking for laser signals.

However, he believed that we will find evidence of extraterrestrial life within the next 100 years. "Wouldn't it be phenomenal?" he says. "It would be the discovery of the century, of the millennium. It would be tremendous to be the lucky one, but I don't, think it will be me. I think it will be my students, or my students' students."

If there is a discovery, the scientific guidelines are very clear. If uncon­firmed, it should be announced as an "unknown astronomical phenomenon" to the International Astronomical Union. This alerts other astronomers who should attempt to look for, and verify, the signal. On confirmation, the team which discovered it should telegram the IAU and the Secretary-General of the UN (as well as their own government). The International Telecommunications Union in Swit­zerland should also be alerted; it has the power to stop stations transmitting on the same frequencies, and would be asked to clear the frequency band that the aliens were using. Scientists most not broadcast a reply.

Actually, the thought of another civilization hiding out elsewhere in the cosmos is quite spooky. What if they're the celestial neighbours from Hell? Werthimer points out that we are listening for their signals, not telegraphing our own presence. So, do we eventually tell them we're here? "That's a question for humanity, not scientists," Werthimer says.

Task 1

The following words appear in the text. Match each one with a definition on the right.

sift through tribute defy spooky spot scribble guidelines emanate evidence

a). come out from b). recognize c). make a close examination d). words and objects which prove a statement e). refuse to obey f). the main points about smth which is to be dealt with g). causing fear in a strange way h). smth done to show respect for someone i). write carelessly or in a hurry

Task 2

It’s useful to learn different forms of words. Give the missing forms for the words from the text which are in the table below.

Verb	Noun	Adjective
communicate
		thick
	confirmation
convince
		promising
accept
		advanced
	frequency
believe
	explanation

Task 3

Explain or say in another way paying attention to the underlined words and phrases.

1. Among the five billion radio signals there are 150 that defy rational scientific explanation.

2. The aliens have to exist.

3. The signal from another civilization might be out there in the sky, but never get picked up.

4. The thought of another civilization hiding out elsewhere in the cosmos is quite frightful.

5. The promising candidate was the Wow signal, picked by the researches at Ohio State University.

Task 4

Are the following statements true or false? If false, say why. If true, add some more information.

1. About 150 radio signals came from some unknown sources.

2. Telescopes all over the world search for extraterrestrial (ET) intelligence.

3. An elite group of astronomers does not allow anybody to process the collected data.

4. The Wow signal has been spotted only once.

5. Dr. Dan Werthimer has been discouraged by the results of the search.

6. Scientists are sure that there must be some kind of life in the universe.

7. Another civilization might use a more advanced method of communication unknown to us.

8. Radio waves are not a very reliable source of communication.

9. The time is not far when we will find some proof of the ET life.

10. When the aliens are found, the first step is to inform them about our whereabouts.

Task 5

Answer the following questions.

1. What do the letters “seti” stand for?

2. Who is the chief scientist of the project?

3. How long has Werthimer been searching for ET?

4. When will evidence of ET life be found?

5. What will the significance of the discovery be?

6. Does Dr. Werthimer hope to be the discoverer of ET life?

7. What should the scientists do if the discovery is unconfirmed?

8. What should the scientists do if the discovery is confirmed?

9. Who should be informed in case the aliens are found?

Task 7

Render the following texts into English.