the Unexplained
&+
Contents
Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, EssexCM20 2JE, Englmd and Associated Companies throughout the world.
Activities I Pack ISBN: 978- | 4058 -5212,8 Book ISBN: 978- | -4058-5068-l CD-ROM ISBN: 978- I -405 8-5067-4
Chapter 1
Other \Torlds Activities 2
lv
I
6
First edition published 2003 This edition published 2007
Chapter2
Strange Disappearances
3 5 7 9 r0 8 6 4
Chapter3
MysteriousMonsters Activities 3
Chapter 4
Ancient -Worlds Activities 4
22
Chapter 5
Mind and Body Activities 5
24 28
Chapter 6
Ghosts and PastLives Activities 6
30 34
Chapter7
Earth Mysteries Talk about it tVrite about it Project: Tlue Story?
35 40
Text mpyright @ Kathy Burke 2003 This edition copyright @ PearsonEduationLtd,2O\T Illustrationsby Horacio Domingues, map on page9 by $Titmor Setin 11/13ptA. Garamond Printed in China
l1
r4 r6
S\VTCl03 Produced for the Publishers by AC F-studio Editorial S.L. All rights reseruefinopart ofthis publication may be reproduced"xored in a retrieual system, or fiansmitted ;n anyform or by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying recordingor othmise, without theprior urixen perrnision of the publishers. Publishedby PearsonEducation Ltd in associationwith PenguinBoola Ltd, both companiesbeing subsidiariesof Pearsonplc Acknowledgements rVe are gratefirl to the following for permission to reproduc photographs: EddieBre?il: page3l; ForteanPictureLibrary: pagel, page11, pagelT,page2l (t), page2l (b),page25, page27, page 30, page36, page37: Getty hnages: page 19 (b); Graphic Maps page 9; RIA Novosti photo Library: page39, Robert Harding Photo Library: page 16, page i8, page i9 (t); Sciencephoto Library: page3 (t), page3 (b); Topfoto: page 13(t), page 13 (b); Uri Geller Gallery: page24. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologise in advancefor any unintentional omissions. \7e would be pleasedto imert the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequentedition ofthis publication.
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4T
42
CHAPTER
Activities1
Klil
what'sthe bookabout? Lookat the front coverof this bookand discussthesequestions. a Whatcanyouseeon thecoverthat isstrange or unusual? b Whatdoyouthinkthe bookisabout?ls it factor fiction? Checkthe meaningof the thesewordsin your dictionary.Thenusethem in the sentencesandwrite possibleanswersto the questions. aliens
giant
monster
Whenhesawthesea......
power
, he was very frightened.
Thepresident hasa lot of Whatcana president do? ................
c o m efro m o th e rw o rl ds.
How do they travel?^.
Somepeople can...............
thefuture.
Whatdo theyuseto do this? I saw a
He saw tbe machinedisappearinginto the shy.All the plantson thatpieceof groundweredead. hen yu looh up into tbe night shit, uthat are you thinhing? Do you belieae \\ff thot there are otber utorlds out there? Is there life in those uorlds? Is it lihe Y{ life on Earth?
predict
Whywasit frightening? .
c
Other tWorlds
footprinton the beach.
'irWWhat's out there? Spaceis perhapsthe most exciting mystery - the last big adventure' Governments have spent millions of pounds mying to discover its secrets. So are the storiesof aliens and UFOs true?There have been thousands ofreports from ordinary people. But spacetravellerssay that they have also 'W'hen Apollo 1l made the first famous landing on the moon on seenUFOs. 2l July 1969, the spacemenwere not alone. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin saw 'rwo very large mysterious things' with bright lights. 'They are watching us,'Armsttong reported. This information was kept secretfor yearsby the US governmenr. Bur there have been many more reporrs of uFos from space travellersand pilots of aeroplanes. Have UFOs and aliensvisited Earth? Many people say that they have seen them. Some people have taken photographs. Here are some of their stories.
What madethe footprint?
W
What happensfirst? Discussthese questions and make notes. Look at the picture on page 1. What can you see?What is happening?What is going to happen?
Votes
alien /'erlien/ (n/adj) a living thing, perhaps a person, from another world U FO /,j u: ef'eu/ (n) a my s teri ousthi ng i n the s k y , perhapsfl y i ng to E arth from another w orl d I
Mysteriesof the Unexplained
Chapter 1 - Other'Worlds
I Myst'erious visitors Socorro,Neu Mexico, US, 1964 Policeman Lonnie Za.morawas driving home when he saw a fire in rhe hills. W'asit a car accident?As he drove nearer, he saw a large, eggshaped 'machine' about five metres long. It had four legs and no windows or doors. T*"o t..y short 'men' were standing by it. Zamora knew they werent from Earth. The machine suddenly made a loud noise and left the ground. Fire poured from it. It stayed silently in the air for a few minutes. Then it disappeared into the sky. -When more policemen arrived, Zamoris
facewaswhite with fear.flees,in the areawereburning and the ground looked - Iike glass.There were four holesin the ground from the four legs. :lTlg. uFo expertsbelievezamoris story.He wasusuallya very calm person.There werealsoother reporrsof a strangething of this descriptionin the sky that night. Valeasole,France, 7965 FarmerMaurice Ma.sse sawrwo very short, srrange'men in his field. They were standingby a strange-lookingmachine.!(hen he camecloser,they pointed a long stick at him. A light camefrom it, throwinghim to the grounj. He couldnt move.After sometime he wasableto sit up. He sawrhe disappearing into the sky.All the plants on that pieceof ground weredead. -".hin. After this, Massefelt very tired for weeks.\(hen UFO expertsaskedhim questions,they showedhim a painting of a uFo. His f".. *.nt white. '\(/here did you seemy machine?'he asked.It wasa painting of the uFO that policeman Zamora sawrhe yearbeforein New Mexico. The green children In the 1100s,a boy and a girl werefound nearthe villageof \floolpit in England. They werecompletelygreen.They didn't know wherethey were.They didnt speakthe local languageand only ategreenvegetables. The boy soon died, but the girl beganto eat the local food and lost her greencolour. she learnt the languageand talkedabout her life. In her world, all the peopleweregreen.one day,the sun becamevery bright and the air temperature-changed. she and her brother fell asleepand then woke up in this new place.
expert /'ekspsrti(n) someonewho knowsa lotabout a subject
W Roswell manyyearsago,but it is still oneof themost The Roswellcrashhappened important and famous of the UFO stories. People started to ask questions: Have aliens really landed on Earth? Are governments hiding important information from us? Roswell began the great interest in UFOs. Hundreds of books and famous films like The X-Fileshave followed. Roswell is a town in the US state of New Mexico. It was iust another small, unimportant town until July 1947.
A farmer,\Tilliam ('Mac') Brazel,wascheckinghis fields aftera terriblestorm and found manv piecesof metal.He thought they were from a plane crash. So he reported the crash to the police. He also took some of the metal for them to look at. The police passedthe information to the military. They tested the metal and made a discovery. They couldnt break it or burn it. There was also strange writing on it in a language that no one could understand. They decided that the metal wasnt from Earth. In their opinion, it was from a UFO. The military then reported the UFO crash to the local radio station. People were very interested and visited the crash
area.The newspapers quickly printed this excitingstory and soonpeopleeverywhereknew about Roswell. the mifitary /de 'mrlatari/(n/adj)the peoplein a countrywho fight in wartime;military planes are usedfor war
Mysteries of the Unexplained
But after a few weeks, the militaryt repoft changed. The metal in the field wasnt from a uFo; it was from a military plane. They immediately closed the crash area, but they continued to take things away. For many years after this, the US government refused to say anlthing about the crash. rn 1994, the milirary told a new story. The piecesof metal weren't parts of a military plane. They came from specialequipment for spying on the Soviet Union. Many people don't believe this story. They think that the governmenr is keeping important information about UFos from us. There have been many storiesabout small alienswho were found in the areaaround the crash in 1947 * some alive and some dead. rn 1995, the military showed a film from the time of the crash.In the film, there was an examinarion of the body of a small alien by military doctors. But other people dont believethat this is true. For years,experrshave tried to find out what really happened at Roswell. But many importanr government papershave disappeared,so we will probably never know the true story. ffi They took us away! There haue been thousands of reltorts of aliens tahingpeople onto (JFos. Are tltese stories true? rx/ere the people dreaming? tlFo experis belieue some of the stories.
Chapter 1
Other \Torlds
. In 1961 , Betry and Barney Hill were driving from Canada to New Hampshire, in the US, when they saw a light in the sky. It followed them until they stopped.They saw a large, yellow thing. Through a window, they could seestrange'people' inside. Mrs Hill was frightened, so her husband started driving again.Then they suddenly felt very tired. The Hills woke up an hour later in a different place - fifty-six kilometres away. How did they get there?What happened in the missing hour? Later, they had terrible dreamsabout aliens,so they told their story to the military. Doctors askedthem questions.Slowly, they began to remember what happened.They were taken onto the UFO by aliens.Alien 'doctors' examined them. They also gavethem information about the position of different stars.Scientistsagreedthat this information was correct. . ln l975,tavis \flalton was working with other men in a forest when they saw a UFO. A greenlight pulled Tiavis up into the UFO. It then disappeared.til/hen Tiavis was found five days later, he couldnt remember anything. He was much thinner and his arm was cut. ' In November 1989, a woman phoned the police with a strangerePort. Aliens were flying with a woman in the sky. Then two New York policemen reported the same thing! They saw a woman 'flying' out of a twelfth floor window. There were 'little people' flying around her. The alienstook her up into a UFO. The UFO then quickly flew away.
Activities2
W
wereyou right?
Languagein use
Lookbackat your notesin Activity 1.2.Thenusethesewordsin the sentences.
Lookat the sentenceon the right.Then comptetethe sentencesbelowusingpast continuousand pastsimpteverbforms.
aliens
another
ground
inside
strange
UFO
LonnieZamorawas driving homewhen he saw a fire in the hitts.
On page1 thereisa picture of a UFOflyingabove the...........$!194n9............ tt hascomefrom........."........................ world. On page2,thepoticeman islooking at a UFOandtwo aliens arevery.."...........
.."........". . The
isfrightened. , sothepoliceman
On page3 the manis lookingat a large
with strangepeople
inside it. Hiswifeistellinghimto getintothe............... WhentheUFO.............
ffi
(disappear),
What more did you learn?
Name
They saw
(sit)on theground.
(burn).
1 Completethe table with informationfrom Chapter1. Date
Place
Lonnie ZAv.ncxA Valensole, France t1+'l
Bet*y and Barneg Hill Putthesehappenings at Roswel[into the right order,1-8 .
Hitt............... BettyandBarney
........... WittiamBrazel
(drive)
(check)hi s fi etdsw hen . . . . . . . . . . . .
a l_-]fne mititarytestthe metal.Theythinkit isfroma UFO.
(find).
...' when'............... to NewHampshire (see).
b [-lff'. mititaryshowa filmof a smallalien. c []Wittiam Brazel reports the metalpieces to the police.
What's next?
a [l fne policereportthe metalto the military.
do you think ln Chapter2, you wi[[ readaboutstrangedisappearances'What
e [l rnereis a badstorm.
these are? Circle a possible answer.
f
1 The BermudaTriangleis a
Ptace. ship.
plane.
g [] fne mititarysaythe metalis froma mititaryplane.
2 The Mary Celesteis a
Place.
ship.
plane.
pieces tr ['-l WitliamBrazelsees of metalin hisfietds.
3 Atlantisis a
Ptace. ship.
prane.
I
fne mititarysaythe metalis fromspyingequipment.
CHAPTER Chaprcr 2 - Strange L)isappearanccs
StrangeDisappearances TheyJitund an emp7tsbip! Foocl,equipment and clothes were all stil/ there- but no people. nexplained disappeltrancesAren't neut.All ouer the utorld, people or things 'We haue disappeareclfor no reason. still don't hnotu uhy.
':i i I
,tl
i
.'
I .: i
I I
i,i l
I
.l
I i\
I I
BERMUDA TRIANGLE
Hi*imir.
'1r The Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle is an areaof thc Atlantic C)ceannear the coast of Floricla, in the us. This areais famous for the disappearanceof hundreds of ships ancl planes.Storieslike the rwo below have given experrssome information about this mystery. ' On 5 December 1945, five military planeswere flying near the coast of Florida. Suddenly,the pilots didn't know where they were. one of the pilots phoned with thesewords: '\(/e seemto be lost ... Everything is wrong ... ve can'r be sure of anyrhing ... c)ur equipment has stopped working ... Even the ocean doesn'tlook right ... 'Then the phone went dead. The planeswere never seen again. More than a hundred ships searchedfor them, but they were never found.
sâ‚Źrm$dr
dJif,ft1+ ATt&idTn{. l Iirl:Ed liiiliil+1lt*'I' ;L\l'r:*til,L
I{l} fr{tf-f #F Mil................fi
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..F
I \ir
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i
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\
r SanJuan -.-* PuertoRito
5gA fl"A5:[]}mfl"qN
on 11 June 1986, Martin Caidin was flying in good weathef through a clear l,luc sky. Suddenly, the sky around the plane becamevery cloudy. Then it changed r,, bright yellow. It was so bright that Caidin couldnt see.His equipment 'went i r.lzy' and stopped working. Above the plane, there was a hole and he could see l,ltrc slcythrough it. Below the plane, there was another hole. He could seethe ()ccan ar the end of it. Caidin stayed calm and flew the plane for four hours. When he finally got back into blue sl1y,the plane'sequipment immediately started rvorl<ingagain.He looked back but he could only seeclearblue sky. Many ships have also disappearedin the Bermuda Tiiangle. Peoplehave tried r,, cxplain this mystery, but they have different opinions: - It is the perfect place for alien activity. - The lost ciry of Atlantis pulls theseships and planesdown under the sea. - The weather is unusual there. are ordinary accidents. - These 'strange'disappearances But ifthese disappearancesare ordinary, why havent searchersever found any \Why does l,iecesof the planes and ships?\rhy does equipment stop working? rlrc sky changecolour?
t rian g l e / ' t r a r a e 4 g o(l /n ) a sh a p e with th r e e sid e s B
The Mary Celeste,'The Chost ShiP' ( )nc of the srrangestmysteriesof the seais the disappeafanceof the people orr rhe ship, the Mary Celeste.Theship left NewYork on 7 November 1872. licnf amin Spooner Briggs and his family, and sevenother men, were sailing to ( ,t'rroa,in Italy.
CHAPTER
Mysteriesof the Unexplained
A British ship, the Dei Gratia, also left New york on that day. On 5 _ December,the Dei Gratiasailednear theMary celeste.\7asthe ship having problems?some of the men from the Dei Gritiawenton the Mary celesteto find out. They found an empry ship! Food, equipmentand clothes wereall still thle - but no people.The men found notebook. Nothing srrangewas lriggsi written in it, but therewasno writing after 25 November. %:* waseveryone? \flhy did they leave?perhapsthe other men killed _ Perhapsa seamonster attackedthe ship, o, ,h.r. wasa terrible storm. lriggst But why dil the ship look so tidy? peoplehavetried to explainthis mysteryfor over a hundred years. O Ordinary people Here are somefamous old snries of ordinarypeoprewho disappeared. why did they 'oo")ot disappear?wheredid thry go?No onehas , n^.), thesequestions. Daaid Lang september1880,David Lang, afarmer,disappeared in front of his ln23 family and friends.He waswalking field towardsthem waving .hello,. " suddenly' he-wasgone.The areawas".ror, searchedfor months but nothing was familywere ,,ery frightened.But Mrs Lang refusedto move her 9""1.The family awayuntil her husbandwasfound. sevenmonths later,while shewasplaying, their daughterheardher father cryinqfor help. she found a circle of dead giassin the pia.. where he was seenfor the last time. she screamedfor heimoth., *i Mrs Lang ran to her daughter.Shesawthe circle ofdead grass,but shecouldnt hearh"erhusband. This frightenedher again,and shemovedher family to anorhertown. Tlte Vaugban children In 1906, threeyoung children disappeared while they wereplaying in a field neartheir home. searchesquickly began,but after threedays.h. irildr.r, *.r. still missing.on the morning of the fourth day,afarm*oik.. found them lying asleepon the ground. The children were clean, and they werent hungry or frightened, but they didnt rememberanything. They yere .,ery s,rtprirli th"t J.ryo.re was looking They could only rememberwaking up. For the restLf ,h.i, rives,the !r_them. children didnt know what happenedto theri dlring thosethreedays.
monster /'monste/ (n) a large, ugly, frightening animal
l0
MysteriousMonsters Thenextmorning,hesawlargefootprintsin tbesnow.Theywerethirty-fue ' hng and eighteencentimetreswide. centirnetres hereare man! strangeliaing things on hnd and in the seatbat are still a L rnystery.Someof them seernto comefrom another time, Sornearml often seenor photogra2thed.But enoaghpeople say that they haueseentheru.As a result,ue want tofind oat ruore.
I
rilMThe Loch Ness monster 'Nessie',the Loch Ness monster, is probably the most famous lake Inonster in the world. There are well-known lake monsters in Canada, the US, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and other countries. But Nessie feels like part of the family ro many of us becausewe have known about her for so long. The first description of a rnonster in Loch Ness, Scotland, was more than 400 years ago. 'fhere have been many reports since then. Some of these have been honest mistakes.But sometimes people have lied to rnake money from the Nessie story. No one has proved that a nlonster really lives in Loch Ness.
[]ut somepeoplehavetaken good photographs.Expertsand ordinary people havewatchedthe lake for years.They arestill trying to explainthe mystery. Many touristscome eachyearto try to seethe monster.'Nessiewatchers'travel to Scotlandto look for her. Since1930, more than 3,000 peoplehavereported seeingthe Loch Nessmonster. The first newspaperstory about Nessiewasin 1933. Mrs Mackaywasdriving :rlongthe lakewhen shesawsomethingmoving in the water.It wasa very large,black animal and it wasmoving up and down. Her report gavea lot of information. 11
Chapter 3 - Mysterious Monsters
Mysteries of the Unexplained
Then, in 1934, Dr Kenneth \Tilson took one of the most famous black and white photographs of Nessie.There wasn't a better photograph until 7977.In that year, Doc Shiels took some colour photographs of the monster while he was on holiday. some of these photos were losr or destroyed. This has often happened. People have broken or lost their cameras- and sometimes important photographs, too! Itt part of the mysrery. Many scientists agreethat there is 'some kind of living thing' in the lake. This 'thing' is very large and has a long neck. But no one hasprouedyet that a monster lives in Loch Ness. S Don't go in the water! You are lying on a beautiful beach, looking at the lovely blue water ... But what is under the water, deep down in that terrible black world? Some people feel that seamonsters are the most frightening of all monsrers. In Herman Melvillet book Mofu Dick, a fisherman fought a long, bloody war with a terrible whale. \7hen steven Spielbergt FrlmJaws was first shown, people of all agesscreamed in cinemas around the world. But sea monsters arent only in films and books. People have discovered 'real' monsters in the seasand oceans.These are often more friehtenine than a monster from a story. Giant squid The idea of a giant squid is very frightening, but people have seen them. A US military ship was sailing near Newfoundland, Canada, when suddenly avery large whale jumped out of the water. It was fighting with a giant squid. The whale looked about eighteen metres long, but the squid was trying to kill it with its long arms. The squid was as big as the whale! The men on the ship were very frightened. They didnt want to get close enough ro take photographs. These giant squid are true monsrers. It still isnt understood why they grow so large. Tbe'Globster' This is probably the most unusual monster. In November 1922, people on a beach in South Africa watched two whales fighting with a seamonsrer. The fight continued for hours. The monster sometimesjumped six metres out of the water and hit the whales with its tail. The whales won the fight and swam away.
whale /w e r l / ( n ) a v e r y l a r g e a n im a l th a t swim s in th e se a ; it takes i n ai r throuqh a hol e on the top of its head giant /'dgarent/ (adj) very, very large squid /skwrd/ (n) a sea animal with a long, soft body and ten arms
L2
I'lre dead monster was then pushed onto the beach by the water. Peoplecouldnt lrclieve what they saw. It was a very large, shapelessthing, with a long neck and rro head! It was fourteen metres long, three metres wide and one and a half nrctres high. No expert could name the animal. Many people, often fishermen, lurvereported seeingtheselarge, ugly monsters.
' Monstersthat walk the Earth
'l'here are monsters in mountains and wild areas.Many people have seen nlonsters in China, Nepal, Russia, North America and other places that are 'half man and half animal'. No one has ever caught one. Here are the tvvo most lirmous of thesemonsters. '[he Yeti 'Yeti' have walked in the Himalayan mountains of Ncpal and China for hundreds of years. Reports ll'om climbers in the Himalayan mountains have dcscribed them as very tall - nearly three metres. A Ycti stands like a man and has hair all over its body. It is dangerousand can attack people. Most people Irirveseen signs of the Yeti in the snow. These have tlre shape of a man's foot but are very large. They c:ant be the feet of an animal. The most famous report came from Don \Thillans, a British climber, in 1970. In the mountains of Nepal, he watched a Yeti playing in the snow by the light of the moon for about twenry minutes. The next morning, he saw large lirotprints in the snbw. They were thirty-five centimetres long and eighteen ccntimetreswide. Bigfoot 'Bigfoot' is the American 'Yeti'. The Native Americans* first saw the monster and named it Sasquatch.Reports of Bigfoot have continued since the early 1900s. Descriptions are similar to descriptionsof the Yeti. The most frightening story came from Albert Ostman, a Canadian, in 1924. A large, strangelooking animal picked him up and carried him for three hours. + Native Americans: the first people in North America, before Europeans arrived
r3
ffiW.MWereyouright?
Languagein use
Lookbackat Activity 2.4.Then tack(,/l the right answers.
look at the sentenceon the right.Then use many, more, most orthe most in these 5entences.
Triangle is a placenearNewyork. J ffre Bermuda
t
Z [] fne Bermuda Triangle is a placenearFlorida.
re{
'Nessie' ...is probably the most famouslakemonsterin the world.
I Therearelakemonsters in ..................ry9n).................. countries.
3 f
Attantisis a place,a lostcity underthe sea.
+ [
Rttantisis a place,a town in ltaty.
j
S I
fhe MaryCeleste isthe nameof a plane.
4 Theglobsteris probably
S I
fne MaryCeleste is the nameof a ship.
5
.........."..."
...^..." fishermen haveseenglobsters.
6
............"..
........ in thesnow. signsof Yetiarefootprints
2 DrWilson tookoneof ......."........" A giantsquidis
7 ...."......"."."
Whatmoredidyou learn?
...frightening thana whale. .. unusualmonster.
frightening storyaboutBigfoot camefromAtbert ".......
Ostmanin 1924.
1 Matchthe first part of these sentencesabout the BermudaTrianglewith their endings. ..""""'i. 1 Fivemititaryplanesdisappeared
a ...througha holein thecloud.
i 2 Thepitotshadno idea
b ...nearthecoastof Ftorida.
3 Shipssearched for them,
c ...but theywereneverfound.
4 WhenMartinCaidinflewthere,
d ...the skyturnedyellow.
What'snext? Lookat the pictureson pages15-1 9. Discusswhat you know about theseplaces. Thenwrite about them below.What do you think the story is about?Makenotes. Stonehenge
Easter lsland
5 Hecoutdonlyseebtuesky
e ...hecouldonlyseeclearsky.
6 Looking backlater,
f
7 A lot of shipshavedisappeared
g ...wheretheywere
...sincethen. The Pyramidsof Giza
2 Matchthe monsterwith the place.Writethe letter. A Nepaland china B south Africa c North America D scotland E canada 1 []Nessie
z
I Ciantsquid
4 f
5
f
veti
photographs ....... famous of Nessie.
3 [
The Giant Sphinx
ctobster
aigtoot 14
L'
C H A PT E R Chapter 4
Ancient \Torlds But before the year ended, twelue of the twenty scientists from his team were dead!
are learning about neu mysterieseuerirday. Thereare reports of arien \Y/, VY actiuitlt, strangenew lmonsteri, unerplained storiesin medicine,strutnge actiuity in sltace.It seemsthat the number of mysteriesis growing. or are tae just more interested?Examplesof mysteriescomejiom the earljt daysof our ffi on earth.
Ancient \Torlds
, i lrt lt's opinion. The very large top stonesfit into the smaller standing stones. I lris neededtools and skills that people didnt have at that time. Experts agree rlr.rt a higher intelligence was needed.So who built Stonehenge?No one knows. l ,' r rhi s reason,i t i s sr ill one of t he wor ld'sm ost int er est ingm ysr er ies. l'he Easter fsla.nd statues I lrc island of Rapa Nui, in the Pacific Ocean, was named EasterIsland when it 'discovered'by Europeanson Easter Day in 1722.It is famous for over 800 '''.rs ,,1( )fre statues, called moai.The statuesare between one and ten metres tall and l'.rvcsimilar faces.They stand by the sea,facing the land. V/hy did the people of EasterIsland build them? Some expertsthink that the ',r.r(ueswere the 'homes' of ghosts of people from the island'spast.The ghosts 1,,,'l<ed through the statues'eyesand guarded the island. Peoplebuilt the statues .r'rtl then moved them to another part of the island (twenty-five kilometres away) .,rrclput them on platforms. In the early 1990s, forry scientistsmoved fifteen of rlrc statuesand put them on new platforms. They used modern equipment and everyday, but it took them four years.So how did the people of Easter 'v,,r'ked lsl:rndmove more than 300 statues?Scientistshave found no answers.
{ts.How did they do it? Stonebenge Stonehenge,in the uK, is different from anything of its kind in Europe. After 5'000 years,it is still standing. But why was it built? was Stonehengeused like a giant computer to make predictions from the position of the sun, moon and stars?This is the most popular opinion. Howwas it built? Many of the heavFstoneswere brought from 240 kilometres away) so 1,500 men had to work every day for over five years, in one predic t / p r r ' d r k t /( v ) t o s a yth a t so m e th in g will h a p p e n l()
statue /'stetj u:/ (n) some thi ng (i n s tone or metal , for ex ampl e)that l ook s l i k e a pers on or ani mal ghost/gaust/ (n) a fri ghteni ng, mov i ng thi ng i n the s hape of a pers on w ho has di eo 17
Mysreries of the Unexplaincd
Chapter 4 - Ancient \(orlds
,rf Mysteries of Egypt The Pyrarnids The three mosr famous Egyptian pyramids are in Giza. They were built for the bodies of the pharaohs* after they died almost 5,000 yearsago.The pharaohs' gold was put with them for the 'next life'. The Great Pyramid is the largest.It is 140 metres high and 228 metres wide at its widest point. King Khufut body is there. Peoplethink that the pyramid shapehelped the pharaohsclimb to the sky after their death. So how were rhe pyramids builr? That is still not known. Scientiststhink that over 100,000 men worked for more than rwenry yearsro build the Great Pyramid. More than two million sroneswere used.The srones were very large and very heavy. How were they lifted to the top?
'l"be Great Sphinx I he Sphinx guards the pyramids. It is twenty metres high and more than \cvenry-three metres long. The face is four metres high and each eye is nearly rwo metres long. The Sphinx has the head of King Khufus son, King Khafre. l'he body of an animal shows how strong the king was. Experts still cant explain lrow it was built.
IGng Tutanhharuen I'heValleyof the Kings is nearthe city of Luxor,
* pharaohs:the kingsofEgypt pyramid/'prramrd/ (n)an old stonebuildingwith wallsthat meetat a singlepoint at the top 1B
in Egypt. The bodies of the most famous pharaohswere put in specialrooms there. An llnglishman, Howard Carter, searchedfor vearsfor the place where King Tutankhament body was kept. In l923,he found a large room filled with gold and other beautiful things. He took many things away.But Carter and his team paid a terrible price For their discovery. A sign at the entrance promised death to the people who opened it. Carter didnt believethis. But before the year ended, twelve of the twenry scientists From his team were dead! 19
Mysteries of the Unexplained
Chapter 4 -Arcient \Worlds
There have also been reports about the ancient civilization of Mu, near Japan.There are photographs of this 'mystery ciry' under the sea.Peoplebelieve they have seen buildings, statues and roads. t& The Nazca Lines In Peru, very large 'drawings' of animals and 1,300 kilometres of straight lines cover more than 500 square kilometres of land. These were made by the Nazca people thousands ofyears ago. Scientists have travelled to Peru to study these shapesand lines. Many of the animal shapesare as big as two football fields. You cant seethem from the ground becausethey are so large. So scientists have to take photographs from the air. There are many questions about the Nazca Lines. \flhy are they so large?How could the Nazca people make perfect shapeslike these when they couldnt see them from the ground?'Who or what were they made for? Perhaps they were used to predict the weather and the best time for planting crops. Some people think the lines have a religious meaning.
Were there really 'perfec/ ciailizations tltousands ofyears ago? W'erethe people beautiful and intelligent? Did they liue utithout utar?'W'eretheir liues more utonderful than ute can irnagine? Or is tbis just our hope for a perfect utorld? @ Lost civilizations The Greek writer Plato told a story about an island in the Atlantic Ocean called Atlantis. It was a beautiful place.The people were intelligent and had many interests. The land was rich with plant and animal life. The people used their skills well, so the island was a centre for farming and business.Their buildings were beautiful and well built. Their kings and queens had great power in Europe and Africa. This was more than 1 1,000 yearsago - and then the ciry disappeared under the sea. \fas there really an Atlantis? If there was, why did it disappear?Some experts agreeon one idea: perhapsthe story ofAtlantis is really the story of the Greek island Santorini. People still want to know about Atlantis. They are sdll looking for this lost civilization. civilization /,srvalar'zerJan/(n) a group of people who have the same laws and ordered way of lif e power /'paue/ (n) a strong position over people; they must do what they are told
20
ancient /'ernJant/ (adj) from a very long time ago crop /krop/ (n) a plant, like rice or fruit, that you grow for food )1
Activities4 ..1 .,
ffi
Wereyou right?
.'ti :
i
.;
Mysteries of the Unexptained
,
! Languagein use
Lookbackat your answersto Activity 3.4.Thencompletethe sentences about each picture.
Look at the question on the right. Then make questions for these answers.Use passiveverb forms.
Howwas it buitt?
Easterlsland CreatSphinx ThePyramids NazcaLines Atlantis Stonehenge
? (buitd)
1 ...............qrse1..9p1n1................ : a statuewith the headof a man andthe bodv
(guard)
of an anim al.
2
a circlemade from heavystones.
3
an islandunderthe sea.
4
a placewith eight hundredstatues.
5
a n i m a Is h a p escut i nto the ground.
5
pointedbuitdings madefrom mi[[ionsof stones.
? (find) IntheValleyof the Kings. (make)
Who............ Bythe Nazcapeoplein Peru.
......... ..?(discover)
When,.......... ln 1722,whenEuropeans arrived there.
ffi
What more did you learn?
Where
Matchthe wordswith a possibte 'speaker'.
Toplatforms, in anotherpartof the istand.
(move) .......,"..."......?
What's next? Chapter 5 is about people who can do strange things with their minds and bodies.Thesentencesbelow te[[ you about some of these people. Discussthe best ending for each sentence.
1 ['t amguarding thePyramids.' 2 fl 'l amgoingto writea storyaboutAtlantis.' 3 l-',1'fne ghostsof ourgrandparents livein the statues.' 4 l--] 'l wantto takemy gotdwith mewhenI die.' 5 l ,-]'Twelvescientists diedafterwe foundthe room.' 22
1
Uri Cellerchanges
A aboutthefuture.
2
Nostradamuswrote a book
B over fire.
3
DavidBoothdreamed
C t he shapeof m et alt hings.
4
'l witt die on my 45thbirthday,'
D thoughtJohnSnel[.
5
KudaBuxwalked
E out of a third-floorwindow.
6
DanielDouglasHomeflew
F abouta otanecrash.
C H AP T ER
Mind and Body He usedthepower of his mind to changethe shapeof metal thingslibe spoons, forbs and heys. hnout that our bodiesarenl just simple machines.But what powersdo \Y/" YY oo, minds haaeouerour bodies?How can an ordinary man siddenly hrt a car to s*aesomeone\life?Hou dopeopleutalh onfire withoutfeelingpain? lY/hatis the mind? Scienceis still not sure.
& Thepowerof the mind Uri Geller became famous in the 1970s. He used the power of his mind to change the shape of metal things like spoons, forks and keys. He has shown his very unusual skills many times. He can 'see'when his eyâ&#x201A;Źsare covered.He can describea picture or 'read' a letter. He has stopped clocks working. Geller discovered his powers when he was only four years old. Scientistsstill can't explain how he does thesethings. Not everyone believesin his powers. But no one has proved that they aren't real. I Nostradamus \Would you like to seeinto the future? Do you know anyone who has this power?The earliestknown person with this power was Michel Nostradame, 'Nostradamus' (1503-66). He had great skill as a doctor and he was very brave. 'Vhen the 'Black Death killed thousands of people in France in the 1500s, he saved many people. But he couldnt savehis wife and children from this terrible illness. \fhen they died, he left his home. He travelled around Europe and becameinterestedin mysteries. Other people soon discovered his power to predict the future. He became very well known in Europe and wrote a famous book, Les Propheties,of more than 1,000 predictions. These predictions were about times that were 500 yearsinto the future.
Chapter 5 - Mind and Bodv
Nostradamus correctly predicted many important things: the power of Hitler in Germany, the Second \7orld tVar, and the deaths of some important people. He wrote of President Kennedy,'His death will be sudden and sad.' Nostradamus even correctly predicted his I own death. He described i exactly how he would
die.\X/hensomething importanthappens in dre world, expertsstill readhis predictions.Other people
il \l
with this power have become famous since Nostradamust time. but Nostradamus'swork sdll interests people after 500 years.
S Dreamsof the future Some people have a strange feeling (often a dream) that something - usually bad - is going to happen in the future. They cant explain the feeling but they are very sure. Many people have 'seen' terrible things that have happened in the world. They have known about them before they happened! . A girl had a dream about the end of the great ship Titanic on the night that it happened. She saw a large ship with many people on it. Suddenly,she heard a loud scream and one end of the ship went up into the air. The ship then disappeared quickly into the sea.Ocean travel was dangerous in those days, but how can we explain stories like hers? .In 1979, David Booth had the same dream night after night. In his dream, he saw a plane crashing and burning near buildings. He told people about his dream, but he couldnt give them the time or place. The next day, a plane crashed at Chicago Airport and everyone on the plane was killed. . The night before the attacks on New York in September 2001, a woman dreamt that she met a friend in New York. He was crying and pointing to tlvo tall buildings. They were burning. The next morning, the attacks happened. 25
Mysteriesof the Unexplained
.
Chapter 5 - Mind and Body
John Snelllived in Poole,in England.On holiday,he paid a womanto look into his future. Shetold him, 'You will die on your forty-fifth birthday.' He wasnt frightenedbecausehe didnt beliwe her. For rwenty years,he worked long hours and enjoyeddrinking. But ashis forry-fifth birthday camenearer, he startedto worry. He stoppeddrinking. On his birthday,he refusedto go out. The neft day,he reada local newspaperreport about the deathofJohn Snellof Pooleon his forty-fifth birthday.The woman wasright and wrong. There were twoJohn Snellsliving in Poole. The other John Snelldied!
Fire-ualhing \7e have heard stories for many years about religious men walking on fire. In 1935, this was tested for the first time. An Indian man, Kuda Bux, walked over a fire. The firet temperature was 300'C, but his feet werent burnt and he felt no pain. Scientistswatched and it was filmed. Scientists now agreethat this is an example of the power of the mind over the body. In this photo a fire-walker in Sri Lanka walks calmly acrosshot stones.
& Body mysteries Someof tbesestoriesshou tbepouter of tbe rnind ouer the body. Otberssbou frightening things that haaebapltenedto peopldsbodies.AII are mysteries. Fire! How can a personsuddenlystart burning for no reason? There havebeenmany terrible examplesof this. The personis burnt to deathvery quickly, but nothing aroundthem is burnt. student,waswalking down the JacquelineFitzsimmon,a seventeen-year-old collegestairswith two friendswhen shesuddenlystartedburning. Three people tried to stop the fire, but it wastoo fast.Shedied in minutes. Firemenand police could find no reasonfor the fire or why it wasso sudden. Tbe'ligbt' utom"an In April 1934,a young woman from Pirano in Italy beganto havea very strange problem. SThenshewassleeping,a blue light camefrom her body.\7hen she Her family calledin scientists.The scientists woke up, it disappeared. watched her sleeping for a week, but they couldnt explain it. After three weeks,
the blue light disappearedand neverreturned.
26
Up, up and auay Some people are able to lift themselvesoffthe ground and stay in the air with no help. Most reports of this are about religious people. The most famous story from Europe is of an Englishman, Daniel DouglasHome.In 1868, while people watched, he 'fle# out of a third-floor window. He then flew back into the building through an open window in another room. Asian countries have many stories like this. ATibetan religious man, Milarepa, slept, ate and walked in the air!
27
Activities5
ffi,ffi
of the Unexplained Mysteries
ffi Languagein use
Wereyou right?
Look at the sentence on the right. Then choose a word from the box to complete these sentences.
Look back at Activity 4.4.Then answer these questions' 1 Who can changethe shapeof metalthings? 2 Who wrote aboutthe future?
because and
He totd peopleabout his dream,but he couldn'tgivethem a time or Place.
while
unti[
3 Who dreamedabouta Planecrash? Uri Cetlercan changethe shapeof metalthings..
Who walkedover a fire?
4
$-W
a.!d
canstooclocKs
working.
5 Who didn't die on his forty-fifthbirthday? 6
so
but
arestitI .. people
500 yearsago madehis predictions Nostradamus
Who flew out of a third-floorwindow?
interestedin hiswork. 3 JohnSne[[wasn'tfrightened
What more did you learn? Circle the right answer. 1 What hasUri Cellerstoppedworking?
.."he didn't believethe prediction. was dead. ...Jacquetine
4
Thefiremendidn't arrive
5
Her familywasworriedaboutthe btuetight,
...' they calledin
scientists.
Cars. (Ctocks; ComPuters. 6
Mi l orepastept. . . . . . . . ". . . .
he wasin t he air .
2 What wasThe BtackDeath?
An illness. A book. A
j$ what's next?
3 What was the Titanic? A buitding. A shiP' A Plane.
200J1 *, -*"-:--- " 4 Whichcity wasattackedin September ! Chicago- Londol
llev-Yorkr- i
Chapter 6 is about ghosts. Do you know of any famous ghosts, in real tife or in fiction? was it seen? a Makenotesaboutone ghost.Where What was it tike?What did it do?
suddenlydo? Fitzsimmon 5 What did Jacquetine
.lnlvnll'-9,:*! s]t:-ai::ttslt*,I i llqv:!l:s9',
tVo*es
6 What camefrom the girt in Pirano'sbodYwhen shewas steePing? i
n btue tight.
Fire. Water.
i
7 Who did her fami[yaskto watch her? Doctors. Policemen. Scientists. 8 What happenedto KudaBux'sfeet when he watkedoverfire?
Theyhurt. Theyturnedwhite. Nothing. b 28
is the most Compareyour ghostwith the ghostsof otherstudents.Whose Why? interesti ng/frightening/amusing?
CHAPTER Chanter 6 - Ghostsand PastLives
Ghostsand PastLives Shefnally turned totuardshim, and shehad no face. He screamed and ran away. o yoa-belieaein ghosts?Canpeople really return to life on Earth arter d.eatb? S Ghost houses rn 1863, a largehousewasbuilt next to Borley church, nearthe town of Bury st Edmunds.The housebecamefamousbecausemany srrangethings happened there.There were noises.Things flew through the air. Somepeoplehe"rd " personwalking through the house.Ghostswereseen.The most famousghost wasa young woman; her ghostwasoften seenin the gardens. ln 1928, Lionel and Marianne Foystermovedinto the house.Marianne immediatelyhated the dark, ugly building. Soon after they moved in, frightening things beganto happen.\7hen a ghostwrote messages to Marianneon the walls, photographsweretaken.Local peopledidnt believeMarianne's stories,but more than 2,000 mysteriousthings werereported during the Foysters'five-yearstay. \[hen the housewas destroyed in a fire in l939,that seemed to be the end of the story.Then local peoplebeganto talk about strangethings happeningin Borley Church. In 1974,the BBC filmed Borley church. They put sound equipmentinsideand watchedthe church. They heardloud noises:peopletalking, a door openingand closing,heavy footsteps.But the door didnropen or closeand they found ,ro orr.l al the sound equipmentin the church wasdestroyed.one night, two of the BBC filmmakerssawthe ghostof the young woman in the garden.They watchedher for twelveminutes!Denny Denshamfrom the BBC said,'I cant explainwhat I've seenat Borley.' 30
Sincethe BBC visit, many more mysteriousthings havehappenedat Borley Church. You can visit the church on your next trip to Englandif you arebrave enough! A housein Norfolk, England,is famousfor the ghostcalled'the Brown Lady'. Shewasfirst seenin 7835,very late at night. Shewore a beautiful brown dressand her faceshonewith light. But shehad no eyes- only two black holes!In 1936,wo photographersfrom CountryLife magazinecameto take photographsof the house.They sawthe Brown Lady moving up the stairs.They werevery frightened,but they took this famousphotograph.It is one of the best photographsof a ghost.Sincethis time nobody hasseenthe Brown Lady in the house.Did the photo frighten her away? I Around the world Eaery country hasfamous ghostsand ghoststories,Somecountrieshaaesirnilar gbosx but uith dffirent narnes.Do you haueany of theseghostsin your country? India An acheriis the ghost of a little girl who livesin the mountains.Shecomes into the villagesat night to makethe children sick. Children wearpiecesof red cotton round their necksto protect them from the acheri.In many European stories,peoplealsowear red to protect themselvesfrom bad ghosts. 5I
Mysteriesof the Unexplained
Japan Japanhasmanyghosts.Theburuburuis the ghostof fear'. It livesin dark forests and looks like a shakingold man or woman, often with one eye.The buruburu jumps on a persontback.The person suddenly feels very cold and dies of fear. The 'facelesswoman'was first seen in Tokyo hundreds of years ago. A man was walking home one night when he saw a woman crying. He tried to help her, but she couldnt stop crying. She finally turned towards him, and she had no face. He screamed and ran away. He ran until he saw an old man on the road. He told him about the woman's face.
'I7as it like this?'askedthe old man ashe turned round. He, too, had no face! Germany Theword pobergeistcomesfrom Germanandmeanshoisy ghost'.How doesa ghostbecomea poltergeist?Perhapsifa persondiesin r.r.ibl. *"y, their ghoststays " angryaftertheir death.A poltergeiststayedin a man'soffice in Germrny for y.".. i. " destroyed furniture,threwthings,turnedlightson andoffand movedpictures round the walls.It alsomadehundredsof expensivetelephonecalls.Expertsdiscovered. that it wasangrywith a secretary.'When shemovedaway,t}reactivity stopped. The Muslim world '[he zaris known in Muslim countries.It is a man-hatingghost.It comes into a houseand makesawife crazy.As a result,sheshoutsat her husbandall the time. There is only one way ro sendthe zaraway.The husbandmust be very kind to his wife and give her expensivepresents! Russia Domouihslive behind the cooker.lvhen a family moveshouse,they welcomethe domouikto his new home with a fire in the cooker.The domouiklooksafter the house.But if you makehim angry,he will burn your housedown. A rusalkais the ghost of a young woman who has died in water.Rusalkasare beautiful,_withlong greenhair. They live in lakesand riversand secretlyhelp poor,hard-workingfi shermen.
32
Chapter 6 - Ghostsand Pmt Lives
ffi Past lives Haueyou eaerthought 'Ibe beento tbis phce before',or 'Ibe already met this person?'Here are sornestoriesofpeople ubo liued completeliues in other times.
Brifu Muryby VirginiaTighe was the wife of a businessmanin'Wisconsin, in the US. But this wasrit her only life. One hundred years before, she was a young Irish woman called Bridey Murphy. Virginiat story is one of the most famous in the world. \X/hy have so many experts believed her? Virginia never travelled and knew nothing about Ireland, but she knew many important things about Brideyt life and town: the language, the names of local shops and people, the type of money, even popular songs. Experts have checked Virginiat story for over thirty years. They havent proved that it isn't true. Sbanti Deai Shanti Devi was born in 1926 in Delhi, India. \7hen shewas four yearsold, she began to talk about her 'other life' as a wife and mother in the town of Mathura. She said things like, 'This was my husband'sfavourite food.' She remembered many things about her life in Mathura. Her husband wore glassesand had a clothes shop. She died when she had her second b"by.At nine yearsold, Shanti remembered her husbandt name: Pandit Kedarnath Chaube. Shantit parents wrote to him and invited him to their house. Shanti knew him immediately. She then wanted to go back to her old home. Family and friends went with her. \fhen they arrived in Mathura, she saw her husbandt brother. She immediately knew who he was. She found her old house without help. She knew where her bedroom was. She found some of her things there. Pandit agreedthat they were hers. Shantit story interested people all over the world. Mahatma Gandhi invited her to his home. But Shanti always missed her first life and nwer married. She died sad and lonely. The Polloch children In 1957, sadnesscame to the Pollock family of Hexham, England. The only children, two sisters,were killed by a car.The Pollocks found happiness again when Mrs Pollock had more children - two more girls. But something was strange about these children. They knew all about their dead sisters'lives. They knew about their school, their friends and even their toys. \f/hen the girls were older, their parents sometimes found them crylng.'\When cars drove quickly along the road, they screamed.All of this stopped when the girls became older. After that, they couldnt remember any of it. Experts still cant say why these things happened to the Pollock children. )3
Activities6
Mysteries of the Unexptained
#*frffi$Wereyou right?
Languagein use
Look back at your answer to Activity 5.4. Readthe story about the buruburu at the top of page32 and compare it to your ghost. Are the two ghostssimilar in any way? S im i l a r
Different
Look at the questionon the right. Then make other questionsusing present perfect verb forms.
Haveyou ever thought,'l've beento this placebefore?'
i:,,.'r..'.1..... 1 ...... ."...iiry.t.lliri.. ".."... fv nrr/c opl
e ohoqtZ " o --''
2
. (there/be)a ghostin BorleyChurch?
3
a photographof the BrownLady? . (anyone/take)
4
. (you/tive)before,do you think?
5
domovikto their house? . (they/wetcome)the
6
the zar away? . (herhusband/send)
what moredid you [earn? l.$$:fiilll.t Answerthe questions. 1 Why did the BBCgo to BorleyChurch? l ' r , : r ' [- : l r ' . ' ^ 2 What doesan acherido?
3 What doesa poltergersfdo?
4 Who wasthe poltergeistin the Cermanofficeangrywith?
5 What doesa zar do?
6 What doesa domovikdo?
7 Where do rusalkas[ive?
8 WherewasVirginiaTighefrom in her first [ife?
9 Why did ShantiDevigo to Mathura?
f O Wnut .hungedthe tiu., of Vr.and Mrs Pottock?
What happensnext? )f ',,';, Discusswhat happenedto the people in these pictures.
C H A PT E R Chapter 7 - Earth Mysteries
Earth Mysteries Suddenlya uerylargeball offre coaeredmostof thesby.Theneuerythingwent black. he Earth has its own great mysteries,Sciencehasstill not explained many of the strangethings that hauehappenedto our uteatber,knd and animab.
O Crop circles In theearly1980s,strange thingsstarted happening on Englishfarms.There were many reports of large circles in fields. Crops were flattened, but they were still growing. The circles had beautiful shapesinside. The first crop circles were seen on small farms. They didnt become well known until later in the 1980s. \(hen more crop circles were seen, scientists were called in. They were very interested in the beautiful shapes.The shapeswerent simple. Some experts thought that perhaps they were made by an 'unknown intelligence' - by aliens. Many of the circles were found near ancient places like Stonehenge.This added to the interest in aliens. But other scientists disagreed.They thought they were made by strange winds.
By the end ofthe 1980s,crop circles werevery famous.But were they made by aliens or winds, or were people just playing games?Some people thought that the shapes were an ancient language. They'read' predictions in the circles.
In 1990,manymore crop circleswerereported, with someof the most Peoplefrom beautifulshapes. other countries came to England to see them. Filmmakers waited in fields at night and tried to film the circle-making. But they were never able to seeit - only the finished circles. Crop circles were a bigger mystery than ever. \7ho was making them? How were they making them? And why? In 1990, it was discovered that ordinary people were making some of the circles. Two of these people were artists, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley. Their circles were called the 'Doug and Dave' circles. Experts wanted to be sure that people really could make these..â&#x201A;Ź15,000was offered to the person who could make the best crop circle. Some beautiful shapeswere produced. This proved that ordinary people could make crop circles. Many experts lost interest then. But every year, new crop circles are seen. Many'crop circle makers' cant explain some of these new shapes.They are so perfect - too difficult to draw on paper. How can someonemake thesebeautiful shapesin the short summer night? \X/hy hasnt anyone ever seen a person making a crop circle? The mystery continues.
S Other mysteries In someof thestrangerEarth mysteries, surprisingthingsfallfrom theshyor cotne oat of the ground. Sometirnes tltere is a sudden unexplainable change in tbe ueatlter. There are rnany more stories lihe these, but not many ansuters! It's raining! . In 1985, in Texas, small fish fell into a man's back garden. \fhen he went outside, hundreds more living fish fell out of the sky. 36
37
Mysteries of the Unexplained
Chapter 7 - Erth Mysteries
. Thousandsof frogs fell during heavystormsin Birmingham, England 1954,in Canet-Plage,Francein 1977 and in Arkansas,US in 1973. . In Englandin 1987,sandrainedfrom the sky four times. Scientiststested the sand.They discoveredthat it wasfrom the Sahara! Animals in stone In 1960,workerswerebreakingstoneswhen they found small frogsinside - someliving and somedead.One scientistsaid,'Theyve probablybeenin the rocksfor thousandsof years.Someof their mouths havegrown shut.' People could seetheir heartsmoving through their thin skins.Scientistscant explain why someof the frogswerestill alive. Snange lights In January1984, a 'ball of light' flew through a Russianplane,abovethe frightenedpassengers. It then broke into two parts,formed a ball againand suddenlydisappeared. Ghost lights aremoving ballsof light that changecolour.They areonly seen awayfrom cities.They disappearif you go nearthem. Many peoplethink they areghosts.They areonly seenin placeswherepeoplehavedied in terrible ways. Reportsof thesestrangelights havecomefrom Britain, the US and Japan. V'eather cbanges . At7.30 a.m. on 7 July 1987, the temperaturein the Americantown of Kansaswent up 1l'C in ten minutes- from 24"C to 35'C. No Greensburg, one hasfound a reasonfor this. . In March 1978,workersin a field in Francehearda very loud noiseand the earth shook.The noisecamefrom the next field. They ran to the field and found a very largehole in the ground. In the hole wasa 25-kilo pieceof ice.The ice stayedin one piecefor an hour. {t The Siberianmystery In the earlymorning of 30 June 1908, a very largeball of fire camefrom the sky and hit the Tirnguskariver valleyin Siberia.In seconds,everFhing for sixty-five kilometreswasdestroyed.FarmerSergeiSemenovwaseighrykilometresaway, but he sawa very largelight in the sky and felt terrible heat. It almostburnt his shirt offhis back.Suddenly,a very largeball of fire coveredmost of the sky. Then everythingwent black.
ftog lfrog/ (n) a small green animal that lives near water; frogs have long legs for jumping
38
\7hen scientistsvisited the Tirnguskavalleyafter this, they couldnt believe their eyes.Dead 'cooked'animalsweresdll standing.There wereno living trees or plantsof any kind. The Tirnguskariver wasboiling hot. Later,it wasreported that peopleseventykilometresawaywere thrown into the air. Scientistshave tried to find out why this happenedfor almosta hundred years.It is still one of the worldt greatestEarth mysteries. il lt's a[[ a mystery Somescientists think Tunguskahappenedasa resultof a 'blackhole'.Black holesareformed from starsthat aremuch largerthan our sun.The centreof the star is presseduntil it breaks.In lessthan a second,it becomesa 'black hole'. \fhat happensthen?Someexpertsthink that black holesarethe reasonfor someof the Earth'sstrangedisappearances in placeslike the BermudaThiangle. One thing is sure;black holesarethe grearestmysreryof spaceand time. \7e arediscoveringmore and more about our world. But aswe learn more, we havemorequestions.Many thingsaboutthis world arestill a mystery...
E
Answerthese questionsyourself.Thenaskten or more other people.Write their names. Do you believein ...?
2
Choose one of the stories from this book. Readthe story again. lmagine that it happened to you. Are you, for example, Lionel Foyster? He saw the Borley Ghost. Or are you Lonnie Zamora? He saw aliens and a UFO.Write a letter to a friend. Describewhat happened to you. How did you feel?
Workwith anotherstudent.lf you askeddifferentpeople,addyour resultsto his/hers.What did most people believein? What did fewest people believein? Presentyour results tike this.
chosts lilf{iiipi"F'i*H1ti"-+;i' Monstersijij,l}.+"J.iE# j. '.- ;d.. uFOs '."'; =.."" . :' Aliens " .' ' '.":.*;'.;'0246810 40
4l
*
j:jii$rtr You and your friend see this in a 'l..jltr newspaper.Youdon't believe in aliens but you want the f 500.You decideto phone the newspaperand make up a story. Before you phone, make sure you and your friend have got your story right. Make notes below on your story.
H.avevou ever InEt Ad ALIEN? If you have,we would like to meet you! f,500 for your TRUE storyl TelephoneAlan or Sueal the TatqnPoston 8892-66l 235.
. Now work as a class and have a meeting at the newspaper office. *$: *q;fffiriec-i.ts".& *aeqc+
Youarethe peoplewho telephonedthe newspaper office. Yousayyou havemet aliens.The otherstudentsare goingto questionyou aboutyour story.Theywant to be surethat your story isTRUE!Theywitt questionyou one at a time.So makesureyou knowyour story verywe[[!
All other students:
Youaregoingto askquestionsfirstto StudentA, alone, and then to StudentB,alone.You can askeachof them Askeachstudentthe no morethan twenty questions. samequestions. Do they givethe sameanswers?ls their
When?
story true? Makenotes below. ${:t.rcier-lt A's,mnsi'r''ens
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What happened?
How did it end?
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Work in pairsand practisethis tetephoneconversation. Te[[themthat andaskforA[anor Sue. the newspaper lStudent A: I Tetephone a few youandyourfriendhavemetanalien.Bereadyto answer que s ti o nas b o u ty o u r a [i e nm e e ti n gl lmaginethat you areA[anor Sue.Speakto the callerand aska few generalquestions.Then arrangea time to meet the callerand his/ herfri e n d . 42
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You have finished questioning Student A and Student B. Perhapsyou believed their story. Perhapsyou thought it was untrue.Write a rePort for the newsPaPer.
4+
KathyBurke British English Originol lifein otherworlds?What special lsthere intelligent powersdo our mindshave? How canpeoplesuddenly Read Are there reallymonstersandghosts? disappear{ and exciting aboutsomeof the world'smostfrightening - mysleries that sciencecannotexplain! mysteries
Easystarts Level 1 Level 2
200 headwords 300 headwords
Level 4
1700headwords lntermediate
600 headwords
Beginner Elementary
Cover photograph @Tom Till / Getty lmages/ Stone
I SB N 978-1-4058-5212-8
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www.penguinreaders.com
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