Transcript Flying Objects

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
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them solve their problems.
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.
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. (T)
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. (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.
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. (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)
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. (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)
5. The author doubts that men can find answers to
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mystery of UFOs in the near future. (T)
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
Multiple-choice Questions
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
Next
Multiple-choice Questions
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
Multiple-choice Questions
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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Multiple-choice Questions
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
Multiple-choice Questions
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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Multiple-choice Questions
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
Multiple-choice Questions
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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Multiple-choice Questions
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.
Multiple-choice Questions
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 [QnaI5dentIfaId]
adj. 未被识别的；身份不明的
=which can not be identified
e.g. The dead man is still unidentified.
死者的身份仍未查明。
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scientific [saIEn5tIfIk]
adj. 科学的
=guided by the rules of science
e.g. Scientific farming can greatly increase
the production.
科学耕种能大大提高产量。
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aeroplane [5ZErEplein]
=(AmE)airplane =heavier-than-air flying
machine with one or more engines
e.g. The aeroplane finally landed safely.
飞机最终安全降落。
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captain [5kAptIn]
n. 机长，船长
=leader or commander
e.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
[`njU:s9peIpEmAn]
n. 记者
=journalist
e.g. Newspapermen enjoy certain privileges.
记者享有某些特权。
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continually [kEn5tInjJElI]
adv. 不断地，连续地
=again and again; without stopping
e.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 [rI5si:vE]
n. （电话）听筒
=part of a telephone that is held to the ear
e.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 [5tru:WfulI]
adv. 诚实地；坦率地
=honestly, frankly
e.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 [E5kaJnt]
n. 报道；记述；账户
=report, description, narration, statement
of money paid or received
e.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 [mI5stIErIEs]
adj. 神秘的；不可思议的
=full of, suggesting, covered in, mystery
e.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 [^rEJn-Qp]
n. 成年人
=adult, an mature man
e.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 [FRt]
n. 射击；开枪
=firing of a gun
e.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 [5nAtFErElI]
adv. 当然；自然地
=of course, as might be expected
e.g. I naturally answered her letter
immediately.
我当然立即给她回了信。
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pointed [5pCIntId]
adj. 尖的
=sharp, not round
e.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 [5mIstErI]
n. 神秘的事物，谜
=sth of which the cause or origin is hidden
or impossible to understand
e.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 ([`trIpElI
5lIbIE]):
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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