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  3. UFOs What are UFOs? At around the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. Air Force coined the phrase "UFO" as a catch-all term

UFOs What are UFOs? At around the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. Air Force coined the phrase "UFO" as a catch-all term

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问题                     UFOs What are UFOs?
    At around the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. Air Force coined the phrase "UFO" as a catch-all term for any "unidentified flying object" — unknown lights and discs spotted in the sky. But among ufologists (UFO enthusiasts and researchers), the term has become synonymous (同义的) with alien spacecraft.
    The late astronomer J. Allen Hynek defined a UFO as: the reported perception of an object or light seen in the sky or upon the land the appearance, track, and general dynamic and luminous behavior of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients (洞察者) but remains unidentified after close research of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification, if one is possible.
    UFOs are more often than not revealed to be something very well known — a weather balloon or airplane lights, for example. But in anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of UFO cases, the object remains a mystery.
UFO Sightings
    UFO sightings have been associated with so-called alien abductions (诱拐), in which people say that they have been transported to an alien spacecraft and subjected to a variety of physical examinations. UFOs have also been linked to crop circles, strange and sometimes unexplained patterns that form overnight in fields. UFOs have been blamed for animal mutilations — horses, goats, cows, deer and other creatures found drained of blood and with their organs removed. The alien theory arises because typically no tracks are found around the animal to indicate that a human was responsible.
    During a UFO sighting, strange phenomena are often reported, such as radio and TV interference or car ignition failure. Many UFOs leave strange calling cards, such as indentations in the ground; burned or flattened vegetation; and chunks of unidentifiable debris.
Are UFOs Real or Science Fiction?
    Are UFOs alien spacecraft piloted by extraterrestrial (地球以外的) beings, or are they terrestrial objects that just haven’t been properly identified? The question has raised a good bit of controversy, pitting those who believe in UFOs against those who say they need to see more scientific evidence.
    Surveys show that the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. More than 60 percent of respondents to a 1997 CNN poll said they believe aliens have contacted humans; approximately 50 percent said they think aliens have abducted humans; and 80 percent believe the government is hiding something about alien contact.
    People who claim to have seen UFOs are confident that what they’ve seen is real. They say these alien beings have come to Earth to study the human race or simply to communicate with humans. But skeptics say there is a startling lack of real scientific evidence to prove or disprove the UFO phenomenon. They argue that the majority of UFOs turn out to be identifiable phenomena — everything from weather balloons to meteor showers to hoaxes.
The Drake Equation
    Does intelligent life exist on other planets? In 1961, Dr. Frank Drake, president of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, developed a mathematical equation to determine the probability. His equation is based on seven variables, including the number of stars in our galaxy and the percentage of stars that have planetary systems. When all seven variables are multiplied, the answer is the potential number of civilizations out there that might be able to communicate with us.
Alien Encounters
    Have aliens really taken people into their spacecraft and experimented on them? Many say they have. Probably the first account of an alien abduction came from a New Hampshire couple named Barney and Betty Hill. On September 19, 1961, the couple was driving through a rural area in central New Hampshire when they noticed a moving light in the sky. As the object came closer, they saw that it was large and flat with multicolored lights and many rows of windows. When Barney looked at the craft through his binoculars (双筒望远镜), he reportedly saw creatures inside it, one of which appeared to be the leader. Frightened, the couple drove home. Several days after their sighting, Betty began to have nightmares about being inside the craft. Later, under hypnosis (催眠状态), the couple recalled having been taken into the UFO and experimented upon.
    Were the Hills, and the thousands of other people who say they have been abducted since then, telling the truth? Skeptics claim the aliens withwrap around eyes that Barney described aired on an episode of "Outer Limits" just 12 days before the hypnosis session in which he described them.
    But the stories of abductees are remarkably similar. Many people describe an examination room in which their bodies are poked, prodded and studied in various ways.
    These memories may sound like the stuff of imagination, but some researchers say alien abductees share many of the same stress disorder symptoms as war veterans. When they listen to audio tapes of sounds that mirror their experiences, they exhibit physical symptoms — their palms sweat, their muscles contract and their heart rate increases, Harvard University researcher Richard McNally reported in the July 2004 issue of the journal Psychological Science.
    Also, the timing of the abduction stories appears to coincide with the sighting of UFOs nearby. Many of the abductees are reported as missing when they claim to have been abducted, and when they return, they have strange cuts and bruises on their bodies.
Close Encounters throughout History
    Although UFO sightings have become more common in the last half-century, there have been sightings of strange flying objects recorded throughout the ages. Author Erich Von Diken has written more than two dozen books, including Chariots of the Gods? — Unsolved Mysteries of the Past, claiming that aliens have been visiting Earth for tens of thousands of years. The Bible, he says, is filled with references to alien visitors. He contends that they helped build the pyramids, introduced art and social order to ancient humans and even interbred with our ancestors to create our modern species.
    Ancient Indian texts reportedly describe flying machines, called vimanas, used by the gods to fight battles in the sky. In one text, vimana construction is described: .. .like a great flying bird of light material. Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath. By means of the power latent in the mercury which sets the driving whirlwind in motion, a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky...move forwards and backwards.
    Probably the first modern close encounter with alien spacecraft occurred on June 24, 1947. A private pilot named Kenneth Arnold was flying near Mt. Rainier in Washington state when he spotted nine, crescent-shaped flying objects. He observed the objects to be moving at well over 1,000 miles per hour, far faster than any man-made aircraft could fly at the time. One reporter writing up the event referred to the objects as "flying saucers(飞碟)", and the description stuck.
Pilot Kenneth Arnold’s sighting of the UFO on June 24, 1947 is perhaps the first_____
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答案modern close encounter with alien spacecraft
解析 这两句提到，可能现代首次外星宇宙飞船遭遇事件发生在1947年6月24日，一位名叫Kermeth Arnold的飞行员正在华盛顿州的雷尼尔山上空飞行时目击了9个新月形飞行物。题干中的perhaps the first与文中Probably the first对应，故the first后的modem close encounter with alien spacecraft即为本题答案。
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