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.
| 1. sift through 2. tribute 3. defy 4. spooky 5. spot 6. scribble 7. guidelines 8. emanate 9. 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.
Microsoft поможет найти инопланетян
Соучредитель Microsoft Пол Аллен пожертвовал 11,5 млн долларов на поиск внеземных цивилизаций. Его начинание поддержал Натан Майрволд – старший вице-президент Microsoft по передовым исследованиям, пожертвовавший 1 млн долларов. Эти деньги будут перечислены находящемуся в Калифорнии институту по поиску внеземного разума SETI – крупнейшей частной организации, проводящей исследования такого рода. Этот дар поможет институту в создании нового большого радиотелескопа для приема радиоволн с отдаленных планет. Ученые считают, что радиоволны являются наиболее простым и надежным средством для обнаружения инопланетной цивилизации, достигшей определенного уровня технического развития. Проект, финансируемый Алленом и Майрволдом, предусматривает создание матрицы из нескольких сотен параболических антенн. 4-метровые антенны, предназначенные для приема и суммирования космических сигналов, расположатся на площади около 1га. Радиотелескоп будет создан в обсерватории Hat Creek, которая находится приблизительно в 500км к северо-востоку от Сан-Франциско на территории, принадлежащей университету Беркли (штат Калифорния). Новый телескоп, названный в честь спонсора Allen Telescope Array, поможет ученым и в других астрономических исследованиях.
НЛО существуют и планируют совершить посадку в Шотландии
Группа телевизионщиков из Японии выступила с сенсационным заявлением, суть которого заключается в том, что у них, дескать, есть неопровержимые доказательства существования НЛО. Более того, эта же группа утверждает, что в ближайшее время «представители внеземной цивилизации высадятся на территории Шотландии». По словам представителя съемочной группы, они установили телекамеру на крыше в графстве Лотиан, которая в течение года «снимала» все, что происходило в небе над Шотландией.
После того, как пленка была проявлена, выяснилось, что на ней запечатлены странные по форме объекты, излучавшие свет, причем все это происходило в окрестностях отеля Templar Lodge (что в переводе означает «Приют тамплиера»). По словам Рона Холлидея, возглавляющего организацию «Загадки Шотландии», «скептикам придется смириться на этот раз, поскольку, посмотрев видеоматериал японской съемочной группы, они раз и навсегда закроют рты».
Helpful vocabulary
Cofounder (соучредитель), undertaking (начинание), make a donation (пожертвовать), transfer (перечислять), TV-man (телевизионщик), make a statement (утверждать), according to (по словам к-л), film crew (съемочная группа), shoot (снимать фильм), develop (проявлять пленку), submit (смириться).
Text 3
Pre-reading task
Visitors from space are the subject of 20th century fairy tales, yet millions of normal people believe that they are real. Some people maintain that they have been visited or even kidnapped by aliens. But is there any real proof?
The following article is about UFOs or "flying saucers" as they are more commonly known.
Tick any of the words below that you think will be included in the text:
Alien, asleep, escape, disappear, exist, memory, fly, light, pace, moon, sky, star, believe.
Reading
As you read the article, check your answers to 1 above and think about what information could be in the missing paragraphs.
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.
Наши предки – клоны инопланетян?
Уфологи из г. Алексин (Тульская область) выработали собственный взгляд на возникновение земной цивилизации. Человечество произошло не от обезьяны. Наши предки, по их мнению, – клоны инопланетных существ. Артефакты – главное доказательство гипотезы алексинцев. Несколько лет назад они начали археологические раскопки на территории своего района.
За это время уфологи обнаружили несколько камней, на которых можно разглядеть изображения животных, лица людей или химер. Версию о природном происхождении этих рисунков специалисты по НЛО отвергают. Уфологи уверены, что эти находки принадлежат эпохе палеолита. А значит, уже в это время в Тульской области были люди или клоны другой цивилизации. Представители гуманоидов до сих пор оберегают своих чад – живут в параллельном мире, но показываются только фотообъективу.
Уфологу Сергею Звереву удалось сделать несколько снимков, где, по его мнению, видны контуры космической тарелки. Подтверждение своей гипотезы уфологи нашли в трудах тибетского Ламы. На достигнутом они останавливаться не собираются и уже думают о предстоящем сезоне археологических раскопок. Вот только единомышленников пока маловато, а спонсоров вообще нет.
Обитаемые планеты могут быть везде
Астрофизики утверждают, что каждая четвертая планетная системы за пределами Солнечной системы вполне может быть местом пребывания еще одной земли.
Исследователи из Принстонского университета посчитали, что гонка за новыми планетами занимает слишком много времени. Поэтому, вместо того чтобы сканировать небеса, они смоделировали планетные системы, найденные до сих пор, чтобы выяснить, какие же из них могут скрывать жизнь.
Проведя симуляции 85 систем, известных на август 2002 года, Серж Табачник и Кристен Мену обнаружили, что четверть таких систем имеет области, где могли бы существовать планеты, пригодные для жизни. Это гораздо больше, чем считалось раньше, а значит жизнь в Галактике может быть обнаружена почти повсеместно.
В каждой из систем ученые смотрели на следующие вещи: могут ли землеподобные планеты существовать на стабильной орбите, достаточно ли они удалены от газовых гигантов и находятся ли они в «обитаемой зоне», т.е. области, в которой на планете может быть жидкая вода в любое время.
Helpful vocabulary
Origin (происхождение), ancestor (предок), excavations (раскопки), chimera (химера), like-minded persons (единомышленники), rushing (гонка), inhabited (обитаемый).
Final task
Organize your knowledge on the topic and present a report on one of the following points.
1. Why are problems connected with aliens so attractive to people and science?
2. Do you believe in existence of aliens? Why?
3. Would you like to have a chance to fly to a planet with highly developed living creatures? What are you going to find there for yourself?
4. Are there things of cosmic origin that frighten you? Why?
5. What theory of human being origin do you admit? Why?
UNIT 4
WORRIES ABOUT WORLD’S ECOLOGY
Every day we hear about the disasters that face us on this planet. Animals and plants are dying, becoming extinct at the rate of one species a day. Seas and rivers are being filled with rubbish. The air is being poisoned with chemicals and smoke. And these are only a few examples of the way we have lived until now – damaging our world.
But lifestyles are already beginning to change as people become aware of what is going on and make choices to live in a way that is less damaging to the planet. Group campaigns are saving seals, rainforests, countryside. Governments and world leaders claim they have the environment on the top of their lists. Many people call themselves ‘green’ and their lifestyles ‘green living’. ‘Green’ is becoming a household word and every person’s help is crucial.
How ‘green’ are you?
Here is a quiz to see how ‘green’ you are and how well informed you are about the environment. Try it now and again later, when you have taken some action.
Score one point for every ‘yes’ answer.
1. Do you read the list of ingredients on the food you buy?
2. Do you take a shower instead of bath?
3. Have you planted at least one tree?
4. Do you feed birds or squirrels in winter?
5. Do you insulate your house in winter to save heat?
6. Do you switch off lights if nobody needs them on?
7. Does you University / home use recycled paper?
8. If you ever organized campaigns on environmental issues, score 5.
9. For short journeys, do you regularly walk, if you can?
10. For long journeys, do you use public transport or a bike?
11. If your family has a car, does it run on unleaded petrol?
12. If your family does not have a car, score 2.
13. Do you buy ozone-friendly aerosols?
14. If you don’t buy aerosols at all, score 5.
15. If you have ever written to a manufacturer to complain about their products, score 5.
16. Do you belong to any environmental organization?
17. Do you take rubbish to an allowed place?
18. Do you collect paper for recycling?
19. If you are a non-smoker, score 5.
20. If coming back from the forest or from the beach, you always take your litter with you, score 2.
How do you score?
Add your scores to discover if you are:
Very pale green – scores under 5
Light green – scores 6-16
Mid-green – scores 17-27
Dark-green – scores 28-38
Text 1
Pre-reading task
The problems of ecology are very important now. Which problem is the most urgent, in your opinion? What can you and the people around you do to protect the planet?
Reading
Now you are suggested to read the text about urgent environmental problems and discuss them using additional information that you know about the situation in different regions.