2.4 alien encounters——topic:alien beings

quiz link

1. listening script

Police Officer: Hello. 24th Precinct. Officer Jones speaking.

Man: Help. Yeah, uh, it was wild, I mean really bizarre.

Police Officer: Calm down sir! Now, what do you want to report?

Man: Well, I’d like to report a UFO sighting.

Police Officer: A what?

Man: What do you mean “what?” An unidentified flying object!

Police Officer: Wait, tell me exactly what you saw.

Man: Well, I was driving home from a party about three hours ago, so it was about 2:00 AM, when I saw this bright light overhead.

Police Officer: Okay. And then what happened?

Man: Oh, man. Well, it was out of this world. I stopped to watch the light when it disappeared behind a hill about a kilometer ahead of me.

Police Officer: Alright. Then what?

Man: Well, I got back in my car and I started driving toward where the UFO landed.

Police Officer: Now, how do you know it was a UFO? Perhaps you only saw the lights of an airplane [No], or the headlights of an approaching car [No]. Things like that happen, you know.

Man: Well if it was that, how do you explain “the BEAST”?

Police Officer: What do you mean, “the BEAST”?

Man: Okay. I kept driving for about five minutes when all of a sudden, this giant, hairy creature jumped out in front of my car.

Police Officer: Oh, yeah. Then what?

Man: Well, then, the beast picked up the front of my car and said, “Get out of the car. I’m taking you to my master!” Something like that.

Police Officer: Wow? A hairy alien who can speak English! Come on!

Man: I’m not making this up, if that’s what you’re suggesting. Then, when I didn’t get out of my car, the beast opened the car door, carried me on his shoulders to this round-shaped flying saucer, and well, that’s when I woke up alongside the road. The beast must have knocked me out and left me there.

Police Officer: Well, that’s the best story I’ve heard all night, sir. Now, have you been taking any medication, drugs, or alcohol in the last 24 hours? You mentioned you went to a party.

Man: What? Well, I did have a few beers, but I’m telling the truth.

Police Officer: Okay, okay. We have a great therapist that deals with THESE kinds of cases.

Man: I’m not crazy.

Police Officer: Well, we’ll look into your story. Thank you.

2. vocabulary

• stretch the truth = exaggerate the truth
  – My brother said he saw an alien, but he sometimes stretches the truth. It probably was just a bear.

• cool as a cucumber = very relax and at ease
  – The captain was cool as a cucumber when aliens boarded our ship.

• precinct: the office of a police department in a particular area
  – Let’s go down to the police precinct and report the burglary.

• bizarre: strange or unusual
  – That’s the most bizarre story I’ve ever heard.

• out of this world: unbelievable, incredible
  – You have to see his enormous house. It’s out of this world.

3. topic extension

(all answers generated by chatGPT-4)

3.1 pre exercise

Do you believe that life exists on other worlds in the universe? What do you think this life looks like? Do you think that UFOs really exist?

answer 1

Yes, it’s plausible to believe that life exists on other worlds in the universe, given the vastness of the cosmos. Scientifically, it’s a logical possibility. The universe is incredibly large, with an estimated 1 to 2 trillion galaxies, each containing hundreds of billions of stars. Many of these stars are likely to have planets in their orbit. Given these vast numbers, it’s statistically probable that life of some sort could exist somewhere else in the universe.

As for what this life looks like, it’s impossible to say with certainty, but we can make educated guesses based on what we know about life on Earth. Life as we know it requires certain conditions to survive, such as a source of energy, a stable environment, and the presence of water and certain chemical elements. If life exists on other planets, it’s likely that it’s adapted to the specific conditions of those planets, so it may be very different from life on Earth.

The question of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) is a bit more complicated. Yes, UFOs exist in the sense that people have observed flying objects that they cannot identify. However, the existence of UFOs doesn’t necessarily mean that extraterrestrial life has visited Earth. There are many possible explanations for UFO sightings, including misidentified aircraft, atmospheric phenomena, and even hoaxes. To date, there’s no conclusive evidence linking UFOs to extraterrestrial life.

answer 2

No, we do not have definitive proof that life exists on other worlds in the universe. While the universe is vast and filled with countless planets and galaxies, and it’s conceivable that conditions suitable for life could exist elsewhere, we currently lack concrete evidence to support this. The various missions and studies conducted by space agencies have so far not yielded direct evidence of extraterrestrial life. Searches for biosignatures on planets within our solar system, like Mars, and on exoplanets in the habitable zone of their stars, have not yet confirmed the presence of life.

No, we cannot definitively say what life on other planets looks like, because we have yet to discover extraterrestrial life. Our understanding of life is based on what we know and observe on Earth, which is a very specific set of conditions. If life exists elsewhere, it could be based on entirely different biochemistries and exist in forms beyond our current understanding or imagination.

Lastly, no, the existence of UFOs as evidence of extraterrestrial life is not confirmed. While it’s true that there are many reported sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), these remain unidentified and do not provide conclusive evidence of extraterrestrial visitation. Many of these sightings may have mundane explanations, such as misidentifications of natural or man-made objects, optical illusions, or even hoaxes. As of my last training cut-off, there has been no scientifically validated evidence that directly confirms UFOs as extraterrestrial spacecraft.

3.2 post exercise

Suppose that you saw what you thought was a UFO landing in some trees a few blocks away from your house. What would you do?

answer:
If a person were to see what they believed to be a UFO landing, there are several steps they could take:

1. Stay Safe: First and foremost, the person should ensure their own safety. It’s important not to approach an unknown object or event due to potential risks.

2. Document the Event: If it’s safe to do so, the person could try to document what they’re seeing. This could be done by taking photographs or recording video.

3. Take Note of Details: Observing details about the event would be helpful. This could include the time, the weather conditions, the behavior of the object, and any sounds, lights, or other phenomena associated with the event.

4. Report the Sighting: The person could report what they’ve seen to local authorities and, if they’re in the United States, to organizations like the National UFO Reporting Center or the Mutual UFO Network, which collect and investigate reports of UFO sightings.

5. Seek Out Others: The person could also try to find out if anyone else in their area saw the same thing. Multiple eyewitness accounts can lend more credibility to a sighting.

6. Stay Skeptical: It’s important to remember that there could be a mundane explanation for what they’ve seen. Many things can be mistaken for UFOs, including aircraft, drones, balloons, birds, celestial bodies, and atmospheric phenomena.

3.3 online investigation

A great deal of debate surrounds the possible existence of extraterrestrial beings (aliens). With the discovery of so many planets beyond our solar system, who knows what might be out there? Search online for reports of UFO sightings and analyze the information you read. What do you think is the likelihood that the story is true?

answer:
I can tell you that analyzing the credibility of UFO sightings involves considering several factors. These include:

1. Source Reliability: Is the report from a credible source? Some sources might be more reliable than others due to their background, education, or profession.

2. Corroborating Evidence: Is there any supporting evidence, such as photographs, videos, physical evidence, or multiple independent eyewitness accounts?

3. Consistency: Are the details of the sighting consistent, or do they change with each retelling?

4. Alternative Explanations: Could the sighting be explained by something else, such as a known aircraft, weather phenomena, celestial bodies, or even hoaxes?

5. Investigation Results: Have any official or independent organizations investigated the sighting? What were their findings?

Based on these criteria, the likelihood of a UFO sighting being a genuine encounter with an extraterrestrial vehicle is typically quite low. While many sightings remain unexplained, that does not necessarily mean they are extraterrestrial in origin. As of my last training cut-off in September 2021, there was no publicly available, scientifically validated evidence for extraterrestrial origin of UFOs.