Read the texts about some extraordinary and mysterious phenomena and say whether you believe in them or not.

Ghosts

Ghosts are appearances of the spirits of the dead in a form visible to the living. According to those who have seen ghosts, they usually look pale and cloudy. They can pass through solid objects such as doors and walls. They appear and vanish leaving no trace. Whether they really do exist is still a complete mystery.

Ghosts usually inspire fear when they appear. Many people believe that ghosts are evil creatures which will harm living people and they invent all kinds of customs to protect themselves from ghosts.

Many legends tell of ghosts that appear because they have a special task to carry out. Some ghosts return to avenge a murder. Others come back to put right the wrongs they committed when alive. Sometimes ghosts appear to reveal the hiding place in which they kept money or treasure.

Poltergeist

Poltergeist activity is responsible for some rather alarming aspects of the supernatural such as different objects flying through the air, setting things on fire, moving things through doors and windows. Some people think that such things are the result of the activity of ghosts, but researchers of this phenomenon believe that this is the result of psychokinesis - the ability of children and teenagers to move objects without touching them.

US Navy Submarine Vanishes In Devil's Triangle

A US Navy submarine patrolling the mysterious waters of the Devil's Triangle vanished - and reappeared moments later in the Indian Ocean. 10, 000 miles away! And during this short period of time, the 129-man crew of the nuclear sub had each aged 10 to 30 years.

The incredible incident was revealed in a secret report released to a select group of experts in the field of paranormal travel. The experts were supposed to state that the sub had passed through a time warp during which the crew of the sub had lost 10, 20 or even 30 years of their lives in the span of a few heartbeats.

The sub's captain said: "Everything was proceeding normally when, without warning, the boat began to vibrate. Then the vibrations stopped. Our time recorder indicated the passing of only 60 seconds, yet our satellite navigation system showed our position at 300 miles off the east coast of Africa. We had travelled thousands of miles in only a minute! I immediately requested permission to dock in Kuwait. It was during this voyage that the first signs of ageing began to appear."

Then the crew was sent to a centre for space medicine in Germany. By then, the age­ ing of the men was unmistakable: there was the wrinkling of the skin, greying of the hair, the reduction of flexibility of the joints, as well as the vision problems normally associated with growing old.

For these men the situation is tragic. But for science, it is an opportunity for study that cannot be measured and it mustn't be overlooked.

RENDERING

Render into English.

Инопланетяне наконец-то показали свое лицо

Сенсационная съемка НЛО сделана в Турции - сторож одного из коттеджных поселков Ялчин Ялман запечатлел летающую тарелку с двумя существами внутри. Это первые в мире кадры пилотов НЛО, и они совершенно не похожи на землян!

Запись длится 22 минуты. Руководитель уфологического центра Турции считает, что это самая реалистическая съемка из всех, что были когда-либо сделаны. На ней видна блестящая металлическая поверхность тарелки. Но самое главное - очертания двух существ, передвигающихся внутри. Или пилотов-роботов. Ученый мир в шоке: неужели наконец-то удалось снять настоящих пришельцев?! Сторож, который стал автором сенсационного репортажа, говорит, что уже несколько раз видел подобное и мечтал заснять НЛО, чтобы доказать всем своим друзьям, что говорит правду.

По удивительному совпадению, как раз в эти же дни летающие объекты видели еще в нескольких странах. Массовый «слет» НЛО наблюдали одновременно более 10 человек в американском Техасе - в том числе пилот, полицейский и бизнесмен. Но американские очевидцы не успели их снять.

DISCUSSION

What do you think o f thefollowing:

1."Ghosts" - Do you think they exist? Many people say that they have seen or heard

ghosts.

2."Astrology" - Do the stars and planets influence personality and behaviour? Do

human beings control their own future or it is already determined?

3."Extrasensory Perception" - Can some people read other people's minds and know what happened in the past and what is going to happen in the future?

4."Predicting the future" - Can some people see the future by looking into a crystal

ball, or reading someone's palm, or using cards, or in some other way?

5."Reincarnation" - When people die, do they return to earth as someone or some­ thing else?

6."UFO" —Are we alone in the Universe, or aliens sometimes come to the Earth from

other planets?

7. "Telepathy" —Is it possible to understand other people’s thoughts and feelings from

adistance?

8."Poltergeist" - What does this mischievous creature that moves the objects and

scatters things around our house look like? Have you ever come across this phenomenon? 9. Mermaids, goblins, house spirits - Do they really exist? Why did they appear in

folklore?

Is There Anyone There?

God also eludes our five senses. We can't see him with our eyes and we can t reach out and touch him with our hands. For some, God's failure to show up in the realm of touch, taste, sight, smell, or hearing is enough to settle the issue. "He doesn't exist," they say, "if I can't verify him with my senses." But maybe there are other ways to perceive what is

real besides through our senses. What if we could gain information about God through intui­ tion? What if we had a sense yet undeveloped - like a spiritual sense?

For centuries great minds - philosophers, theologians, and scientists —have argued various positions, hoping to settle the issue of whether or not God exists. And even today the topic is debated as intensely as ever. Sincere, intelligent people remain on all sides of the issue.

There are arguments for and against the existence of God.

Arguments for:

Cosmological - Matter is dependent, changeable and according to the current scientific theories had a beginning (the Big Bang). So it is an effect and something must have caused it. God is not an effect. He is eternal.

Theological - There must have been a designer behind the structure of the Universe. If you have a watch, there has to be a watchmaker.

Moral - All people seem to have a conscience that sends signals of right and wrong. A moral creator, who put this standard in all humans, best explains the universality of this trait.

Experimental - Lots of rational, reasonable people believe in God and claim he answers their prayers, guides them, and comforts them in times of need.

Arguments against:

Spontaneous generation - Life came about through a series of natural forces without the assistance of a supreme being. The changes occur through evolution.

The presence of evil - The exsistence of evil in the world implies that a loving and all-powerful God cannot exsist.

What arguments other than the ones given above can you give for and against the exsistence o f God?

DISCUSSION

Express your point of view on thefollowing statement:

People look for the way to the Heaven for the only reason that they have lost their way on the Earth.