Ufo Sightings

1. Another early case of alien kidnapping took place a few years later in 1961, when an American couple, Betty and Barney, were chased by a UFO while driving home one night in New Hampshire.

2. A week later Mrs. Hill began to dream that they had not escaped, but had been taken on board the spaceship and medically examined. Under hypnosis, she told a psychiatrist a detailed story of events on the spaceship, including seeing a star map, marked with the aliens' trade routes.

3. They had, apparently, seen their friend Travis Walton knocked unconscious by a blue-green light from a flying saucer. They found this so terrifying that they did not stay to see what happened next but drove off as fast as they could.

4. These 'people' then put a mask over his face and he fell asleep again, remembering nothing else until he awoke in the forest near to where he had disappeared.

5. Now, over thirty years later and despite the fact that there is absolutely no hard evidence that the earth has ever received visitors from space, the results of several American surveys indicate that the majority of people are convinced that UFOs exist.

Task 1

Now read the missing paragraphs A-F and try to fit them into the correct gaps in the article. There is a paragraph which you do not need to use.

A. The couple stopped to observe the UFO through binoculars and thought they could see people aboard. To escape from what they were sure was an alien spaceship; they took the back roads and arrived home 2 hours late.

B. Five days later, the missing woodcutter returned home with an equally amazing story. He said he had woken up on the UFO and found himself surrounded by creatures with no hair and with half-formed faces/

C. At the time his story received national publicity, some people calling it the most impressive case of its kind. However, Ground Saucer Watch, an organization that investigates UFO cases, concluded that the story was a hoax.

D. The young man, Frank Fontaine, disappeared for a week during December 1979, apparently kidnapped by a UFO. He then reappeared in exactly the same spot as two friends watched. Fontaine said he remembered nothing of the experience.

E. Fourteen years later, in 1975, one of the most famous 'kidnappings' of all took place in the USA. This extraordinary event happened in a small town in Arizona, when a team of woodcutters who were working in a remote forest area returned home with a strange story of how one of their group had disappeared in the forest.

F. The first recorded case of this kind was in the 1950s when George Adamski claimed that he had been given rides in flying saucers belonging to people from Venus, Mars and Saturn. He said that two beautiful young women took him to cities on the far side of the moon.

Task 2

What are the nouns related to these adjectives from the article?

1. real 3. amazing 5. famous

2. terrifying 4. national 6. beautiful

What are the nouns related to these verbs from the article?

1. disappear 3. convince 5. conclude

2. indicate 4. observe 6. publish

Task 3

Find words in the text which have the following meanings:

1. a man whose job is to cut down trees

2. a general view or examination

3. take someone away unlawfully and by force

4. the business of buying and selling

5. a man and a woman together

6. public notice or attention

7. to follow rapidly in order to catch

8. lost, not to be found

9. in spite of

10. a way followed from one place to another

Task 4

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

1. Aliens visiting was first recorded in the mid-fifties.

2. Betty and Barney Hill were brought home on board an alien spaceship.

3. Betty and Barney Hill were not sure whether they were on board a spaceship or not.

4. A team of woodcutters were kidnapped by aliens in Arizona.

5. Woodcutters drove away and left their friend who was unconscious.

6. Later they returned to find out what had happened.

7.Walton Travis found himself inside a flying saucer quite alone.

8. The aliens on board a spaceship were rather strange.

9. Not everybody believed in Walton's kid napping.

Task 5

Read the text quickly and summarize it. Give some extra information on the subject if you can.

Many scientists think that all UFOs are hoaxes. Certainly there have been some very clever hoaxes in the last fifty years. There are also photographs of aliens. Many of these are probably hoaxes as well.

Sometimes people see strange things in the sky, and they think that they are UFOs. When experts look carefully at them they sometimes discover that they are aeroplanes, balloons or even meteors.

In the 80s, the American government was building a secret plane – the Stealth Bomber. They wanted this plane to be invisible from the ground – so it was black. They also wanted it to be invisible to radar; it was carefully made so that radar could not see it. But some people did see these planes, and thought they were UFOs. The government, of course, said nothing – it wanted to keep its secret.

Other photographs of UFOs look like flying saucers, but are probably just birds. Sometimes people have taken a photograph of a building or of something in the sky. When they look at the photograph later, they see a UFO. Often, this is a reflection of light in the lens of the camera. There are even photographs taken on the moon which show UFOs. They are probably just reflections, although some people think that they are aliens watching the spacemen.

Most experts think that most UFO stories are not real; but there are still a few stories which are very difficult to explain.

Task 6

Render the following texts into English.