《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit53:UFO之谜

　　Unit 53
UFO Mystery
The first mass sightings of UFOs in the United States came in 1896, when a number of people from California to the Midwest reported seeing mysterious aircraft. According to reports, these flying machines were cigar-shaped with intense colored lights. Another wave of UFO sightings were reported in 1909 and 1910, and, during World War Two. A poll taken in 1947, though, indicated that few Americans associated flying disks with extraterrestrial spaceships; most people thought of the reported sightings as optical illusions, unknown natural phenomena¹, or top-secret military vehicles not known to the public.
A series of sightings between 1947 and 1949 changed public views of UFOs. And the UFO as an alien vehicle became the public interpretation² of these phenomena. The government quickly established committees to investigate the sightings. The Air Force's project, Sign, which began its work in 1948, concluded that UFOs were real, but not extraordinary. UFOs, the committee concluded, were not extraterrestrial spaceships, but rather astronomical³ objects and weather balloons. A second project, Grudge⁴, Published similar findings, but got little public belief.
Government officials thus started a series of programs to educate the public on matters related to UFO. This policy has remained largely unchanged for the past forty years. But in the eyes of many UFO fans, government officials were trying to hide information on extraterrestrial UFOs for fear of mass panic.
The UFO craze continued throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century. Numbers of sightings increased steadily⁵, and, as of the late 1990s, almost half of Americans believed that UFOs were in fact extraterrestrial spaceships. The form of the UFO myth changed shape somewhat in the 1980s and 1990s, as individuals began to claim that, not only had they seen UFOs, but that they had actually been on board the spacecraft, as aliens had abducted⁶ them and performed experiments on them before returning them to Earth. One "abducted" eighteen-year-old claimed to have had sex with an E.T.
Scholars believe that the UFO myth contains religious-like elements that do much to explain its massive appeal, In believing the existence of superhuman being, by expecting travel to a better planet, and by creating a fellow community, the UFO myth embodies⁷ much of popular religious belief. Meanwhile, the UFO myth, with its government conspiracy⁸ speculations⁹, indicates public's distrust of the government. Periods of high numbers of UFO sightings, have corresponded to a number of crises in government faith, among them the Vietnam War and Watergate.
But, as scholar Curtis Peebles has noted¹⁰, "We watch the skies seeking meaning. In the end, what we find is ourselves."

1 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

2 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

3 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

4 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

5 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

6 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

7 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

9 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。