Flying Objects 1. Background Knowledge Background Knowledge 2. Text Analysis Text Analysis 3. Exercises Exercises 4. Questions For Discussion Questions.

Flying Objects

1. Background Knowledge

2. Text Analysis

3. Exercises

4. Questions For Discussion

Background Knowledge

UFOs: UFO is the short form of Unidentified Flying Object, referring to something strange seen landing on earth or flying in the sky. Its popular name is Flying Saucer. UFOs have been reported for many years, but only caught the public imagination in the 1950s’ “saucer scare”.

Background Knowledge

Sightings of UFOs are reported regularly in nearly all countries. In Great Britain alone, there are over 100 sightings every year, but most of them are erroneous. Many UFOs are only ordinary occurrences. Some are weather balloons sent up by scientists or aeroplanes flying very high or birds with the sun’s light on them; others are shooting stars, mirages or reflected lights.

Background Knowledge One modern theory is that UFOs are really spacecrafts from other planets. The space visitors could come from planets next to distant stars. On some of these planets intelligent life is thought to exist. But scientists usually answer that UFOs are not necessarily spacecrafts. They say that people believe in space visitors because they like the idea that a wise advanced civilization far away is interested in the planet of earth. Someday this civilization will make contact with the people on the earth and help them solve their problems. Return

1. True/False Questions

2. Multiple-choice Questions

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True/False Questions 1. People use the word “unidentified” to describe the reported flying objects because what these objects are is still unknown.

2. According to the author many of the UFO reports are believable.

3. The author says that we must take notice of the UFOs and try to explain them in scientific ways.

4. The author claims that there are many people who often laugh at the idea that there are UFOs.

5. The author doubts that men can find answers to mystery of UFOs in the near future.

True/False Questions 1. People use the word “unidentified” to describe the reported flying objects because what these objects are is still unknown. (T)

2. According to the author many of the UFO reports are believable.





2. According to the author many of the UFO reports are believable. (T)






3. The author says that we must take notice of the UFOs and try to explain them in scientific ways. (T)






4. The author claims that there are many people who often laugh at the idea that there are UFOs. (F)





4. The author claims that there are many people who often laugh at the idea that there are UFOs. (F)

5. The author doubts that men can find answers to mystery of UFOs in the near future. (T) Return

Multiple-choice Questions

1. In 1954, while flying an aeroplane, Captain Howard saw a UFO which he described as .

A) rather like a very big plate when it flew away

B) three objects, all looking like telephone receivers

C) two balls moving in circular directions

D) bright smoke with its color changing quickly


1. In 1954, while flying an aeroplane, Captain Howard saw a UFO which he described as . (A)

A) rather like a very big plate when it flew away

B) three objects, all looking like telephone receivers

C) two balls moving in circular directions

D) bright smoke with its color changing quickly

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2. The Sutton family’s reactions to the “little men” at their farm was one of .

A) hate and unfriendliness

B) excitement and delight

C) surprise and fear

D) tiredness and disinterest


2. The Sutton family’s reactions to the “little men” at their farm was one of . (C)

A) hate and unfriendliness

B) excitement and delight

C) surprise and fear

D) tiredness and disinterest

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3.The author’s attitude toward UFOs can be described as follows: He believes UFO reports .

A) can all be explained scientifically

B) are mostly the result of peoples’ imagination

C) are already proven true, because so many people have seen UFOs

D) mostly remain a mystery, because many happenings have not been explained scientifically


3.The author’s attitude toward UFOs can be described as follows: He believes UFO reports . (D)

A) can all be explained scientifically

B) are mostly the result of peoples’ imagination

C) are already proven true, because so many people have seen UFOs

D) mostly remain a mystery, because many happenings have not been explained scientifically

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4. A man of sense and experience is .

A) one who refuses to believe the reports about UFOs

B) one who would explain a UFO as a result of a person’s imagination

C) one who has the power to understand and make a good judgment

D) one who never makes a mistake


4. A man of sense and experience is . (C)

A) one who refuses to believe the reports about UFOs

B) one who would explain a UFO as a result of a person’s imagination

C) one who has the power to understand and make a good judgment

D) one who never makes a mistake

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5. Which of the following is not mentioned as an explanation of a UFO?

A) Something formed long ago and far away.

B) Lights of cars on the roads.

C) New space machines built by governments.

D) Objects sent up in space to study the weather.


5. Which of the following is not mentioned as an explanation of a UFO? (A)

A) Something formed long ago and far away.

B) Lights of cars on the roads.

C) New space machines built by governments.

D) Objects sent up in space to study the weather.

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Questions for discussion

1. What is your opinion of UFOs after reading the text?

2. If a scientist reported seeing a UFO himself, would you then be more likely to believe him? Why?

3. If there are hundreds of reports each year of UFOs, why do you think people generally still do not believe in their existence?

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Text Analysis

Many things in the world are still unknown to human beings. UFOs may exist and may be one of those unknown things. Here are some reports about sightings of mysterious UFOs.

It is sometimes reported that strange objects have been seen high up in the air. These Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have caused a lot of interest. Some of the reports about them are difficult to believe. Some have been explained in scientific ways. Others have never been explained.

Text Analysis

It is not easy to decide whether a report is true or not. One report of an unidentified object came from a British aeroplane on its way from New York to London in 1954. The

British machine was flying over an island at 19,000 feet when the captain and others on board noticed something on the left and rather lower than their aeroplane. It was about five miles away.

Text Analysis

“It became clear,” the captain said, “that it was not one object but several. We saw one large object and six smaller objects. I sent out a radio report about it, and I received the answer that fighter planes were coming out to meet us. Before the fighters were in sight, the smaller objects entered the big object. The big object then became smaller and moved away fast

— unbelievably fast.”

Text Analysis

The captain later answered a lot of questions from newspapermen.

“How long did you have for studying the objects, Captain Howard?”

“They stayed with us for about six minutes.”

“What shape were the objects?”

“The large one was continually changing its shape, but each of the smaller ones was round like a ball.”

Text Analysis

“What do you mean by ‘changing its shape’, Captain?”

“Well — at one time the big one had the shape of a telephone receiver, but sometimes it was round. When it flew away it seemed to be rather like a very big plate in shape.”

“Tell us, Captain Howard — er — were you afraid?” “I can truthfully say that I wasn’t. None of the people in the plane felt any fear. We talked about that, and we all agreed that in fact we felt friendly towards the objects.”

Text Analysis

There are other accounts of flying objects which have been seen from the air or from the ground. And many of those who have told us about them are men like Captain Howard

— men of sense and experience, men whose word can be trusted.

Text Analysis

Dennis Bardens, who wrote the book Mysterious Worlds, tells us that he once saw a UFO himself. He had dinner one night with a friend near Tripoli, Libya, and after dinner the two men walked across to his room to look at some papers. Bardens noticed a light high up over the sea. It was a red light.

Text Analysis

He turned to his friend, and mentioned that the moon looked strange that night.

“It isn’t the moon,” was the replay.

They watched the light and saw that is was moving. It seemed to be an object rather like a big plate. In some ways it looked like smoke with a light on it; but it was not smoke because it did not change its shape. It was moving in a regular way. That is to say, it did not go suddenly faster or more slowly, and it did not go higher or lower. So the two men decided that there must be men in it.

Text Analysis

When it came nearer to Libya, Bardens says that he felt eyes looking at him. He was being watched in the darkness.

When it was nearer, they noticed that the bottom parts were brighter than the top. The bottom was yellow and the top red. Then the object suddenly turned away and left Libya, moving very fast.

On a later day Bardens talked to other people about it, and he found some who had seen it. They all described it in the same way. Could they all be mistaken?

Text Analysis Other people in different parts of the world believe that they have seen UFOs. Those who used to laugh at the idea do not laugh so often now. A lot of reports and books have been written on this subject, and it seems impossible to take no notice of them. Few people really believe in UFOs, but perhaps they will in the future. Let us consider another of the reports. Let us describe the landing at Kelly.

Kelly is a small town north of Hopkinsville in Kentucky, North America. The event was seen by several people, and was reported in the newspapers. The police and the Air Force were also interested in it.

Text Analysis

It happened on the night of Sunday 21 August 1955. Three children and eight grown-ups were present at the time. At seven o’clock in the evening Billy Ray Sutton, young son of the family, went out of his father’s farmhouse to get some water for a drink. When he came back, he told the family that he had seen a UFO. He added that it had landed behind the farmhouse.

Text Analysis

Nobody in the house was very surprised. They all thought that Billy had seen a “falling star”. But about an hour later, a moving light was noticed outside the windows. It was coming towards the farmhouse. Soon, when the light was nearer, the family could see a little man. His hands were held high up as he came towards them.

Text Analysis

The people in the farmhouse were now really surprised; they did not understand this at all. The men got out their guns, and two of them fired shots at the unknown man. He was hit by the shots and fell down. Then he disappeared in the darkness.

Text Analysis

The two men went back into the house, but then they saw another “little man”; or perhaps it was the same one. He appeared at the window, and they fired at him again. He disappeared again (if he was the same one). The two men went outside and saw another “little man” on the top of the house. They fired at him and also at another who was up a tree. They hit the man in the tree, but he did not fall to the ground like a man who has been shot. He fell gently and slowly like a piece of paper falling through the air.

Text Analysis

It appears that shooting these “little men” did not kill them. Taylor, one of the men in the farmhouse, saw another and shot him too. He heard the shot strike him and then fly off his body. The “little man” fell down. Taylor continued to shoot at these men. Everyone was now rather afraid and soon they all left the farmhouse and drove in their car to the Hopkinsville police station.

Text Analysis

In our world, any story of this kind makes people think of drink. Perhaps the Sutton family had been drinking rather too much and were not telling the truth. But everyone who was there said that the Suttons had not drunk anything, and indeed did not often drink. They were not a drinking family, as someone said. It was also generally agreed that the Suttons, when they reached the police station, were very much afraid of something.

Text Analysis

The police acted at once. Policemen and officers drove towards the farmhouse, and one of them noticed moving lights up in the air. These were coming towards the farmhouse from the southwest, and two of them could be heard above, making a strange sound.

Text Analysis

The family naturally did not want to go back into the farmhouse. They only did so when the officers had gone inside and found nothing unusual there. The officers asked a lot of questions about the “little men” and learned a few facts. The eyes of the “little men” were very big and could not bear a strong light. They always arrived from a dark corner. Indeed, one way of stopping them from coming to the house was to turn on all the lights. Then they stayed away. They did not seem to walk as we walk, but to move through the air above the ground. They stood about four feet high and had pointed ears. They wore some kind of metal clothes.

Text Analysis

There are hundreds of reports of this kind. Must we believe them? If these things are not objects from other worlds, what are they?

Text Analysis

The lights of cars on the roads may sometimes have strange effects up in the air, and people may notice these. Scientists do send objects up so that they may study the weather. Perhaps some governments build new space machines and send them up to find out if they work well. Perhaps people think they see things when there are none; but this cannot explain anything if a lot of people report the same thing.

Time may tell us the answer to this mystery, but it may be a long time.

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unidentified [] adj. 未被识别的；身份不明的 =which can not be identifiede.g. The dead man is still unidentified.

死者的身份仍未查明。

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scientific [] adj. 科学的 =guided by the rules of sciencee.g. Scientific farming can greatly increase the production. 科学耕种能大大提高产量。

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aeroplane [] =(AmE)airplane =heavier-than-air flying machine with one or more enginese.g. The aeroplane finally landed safely. 飞机最终安全降落。

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captain [] n. 机长，船长 =leader or commandere.g. The captain told us there is nothing to worry about. 机长告诉我们没什么好担心的。

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newspaperman [] n. 记者 =journaliste.g. Newspapermen enjoy certain privileges.

记者享有某些特权。

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continually [] adv. 不断地，连续地 =again and again; without stoppinge.g. Language is a living and continually changing thing. 语言是有生命力又不断变化的东西。

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receiver [] n. （电话）听筒 =part of a telephone that is held to the eare.g. From the receiver came out her beautiful voice. 听筒中传来她美妙的嗓音。

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truthfully [] adv. 诚实地；坦率地 =honestly, franklye.g. He admitted truthfully that it was all his fault. 他坦率地承认一切都是他的错。

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account [] n. 报道；记述；账户 =report, description, narration, statement of money paid or receivede.g. Don’t always believe newspaper accounts of events. 不要老是相信报纸的报导。

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mysterious [] adj. 神秘的；不可思议的 =full of, suggesting, covered in, mysterye.g. No one could tell us anything about the mysterious stranger. 关于那个神秘的陌生人，人们一无所知。

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grown-up [] n. 成年人 =adult, an mature mane.g. Now you are a grown-up, so you should be responsible for your behavior. 现在你已经是成年人了，你应该为自己的行为负责。

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shot [] n. 射击；开枪 =firing of a gune.g. At each shot he got nearer to the center of the target. 他每射击一发便更接近靶心。

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naturally [] adv. 当然；自然地 =of course, as might be expectede.g. I naturally answered her letter immediately. 我当然立即给她回了信。

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pointed [] adj. 尖的 =sharp, not rounde.g. We can see the pointed roof of the church from here. 我们在这儿就能看到教堂的尖顶。

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mystery [] n. 神秘的事物，谜 =sth of which the cause or origin is hidden or impossible to understande.g. The murder remained an unsolved mystery. 那件谋杀案仍然是个解不开的谜。

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in sight: near, able to be seen看得见；临近e.g. There was no one anywhere in sight. 哪儿都看不到人。

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at one time 曾经有一个时期，一度e.g. At one time I used to play a lot of sport, but I seem to have lost interest now. 我一度热衷于体育运动，但现在好像已经失去了兴趣。

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turn away 改变方向，离开e.g. She turned away in horror at the sight of so much blood. 她看到这么多血吓得转身离开了。

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take no notice of 不予理睬e.g. They took no notice of his success. 他们无视他的成功。

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not … at all 丝毫不e.g. He wasn’t tired at all. 他一点儿也不累。

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turn on 开（灯）e.g. Ted turned on the light in his room. 泰德打开了房间的灯。

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stay away 不靠近，离开e.g. Stay away from dangerous electrical things. 不要靠近危险的电器。

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还有其他一些关于空中飞行物的报道，有的是在空中看见的，有的是从地上看见的。曾见过空中飞行物的人中，许多是象霍华德机长那样的人，他们有见识，懂道理，他们的话是可以相信的。

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He was being watched in the darkness.有人正在黑暗中窥视着他。

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Those who used to laugh at the idea do not laugh so often now.那些过去一听到这种想法就嗤之以鼻的人现在也改变态度了。

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They hit the man in the tree, but he did not fall to the ground like a man who has been shot. He fell gently and slowly like a piece of paper falling through the air.他们朝树上的那个人打了一枪，但他没有像一般人那样中枪倒地，而是像一张纸片那样慢慢地从空中飘落下来。

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In our world, any story of this kind makes people think of drink.人们总觉得讲述这一类故事的人一定是喝醉了酒。makes people think of drink:makes people think that the family might be drunk

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They were not a drinking family, as someone said.有人说这一家人并不酗酒。

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They did not seem to walk as we walk, but to move through the air above the ground. They stood about four feet high and had pointed ears.他们不像我们那样走路，而是离地飘行，他们大约有四英尺高，头上竖着一对尖角般的耳朵。

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The lights of cars on the roads may sometimes have strange effects up in the air, and people may notice these.在地面上行驶的车辆的灯光有时会在空中形成奇怪的夜空景色，人们也许看见的就是这些东西。

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It is sometimes reported that strange objects have been seen high up in the air.有时报道说，人们看见高空中有奇怪的物体。

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Before the fighters were in sight, the smaller objects entered the big object. The big object became smaller and moved away fast — unbelievably fast.我们还没有看到战斗机，那些较小的物体进入大物体内。接着那个大的物体逐渐变小，并很快离去——以难以置信的高速飞走。

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When it flew away it seemed to be rather like a very big plate in shape.飞离时，它的形状很象一个很大的碟子。

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In some ways it looked like smoke with a light on it; but it was not smoke because it did not change its shape.在某种程度上，它看上去像带有亮光的烟雾。但那不是烟雾，因为它不会变形。

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A lot of reports and books have been written on this subject, and it seems impossible to take no notice of them.关于不明飞行物的问题，人们已作过大量的报道，出版了许多书籍，看来已不可能对此置若罔闻了。

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It appears that shooting these “little men” did not kill them.看来击中这些“矮人”并不能把他们杀死。

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the British machine: the British aeroplane

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Tripoli, Libya ([]): capital of Libya which is a country in North Africa

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Have you heard of UFOs before?Do you believe in their existence?

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What’s the author’s attitude towards these reports?

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Do you think that the mystery of UFOs will remain unsolved for ever?

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Flying Objects 1. Background Knowledge Background Knowledge 2. Text Analysis Text Analysis 3. Exercises Exercises 4. Questions For Discussion Questions.

Documents

mystery of ufos

background knowledge

reported flying objects

discussion slide

discussion questions

word unidentified

ufo reports

near future