Discussion Starters

UFOs &
Aliens
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What does UFO stand for?

2. What is Area 51?

3. What part of speech is the word “alien”?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

1. statistic a)  a survey that asks people a question

2. footage b)  to reach completion, to come into existence

3. aerial c)  to reveal or admit

4. phenomenon d)  a value or quantity based on data collection

e)  a trick that is used to get others to believe something fictional is real
5. hoax
f)  kept secret (information), only available to certain people
6. standardized
g)  always done or made in the same way
7. renewed
h)  of or in the air
8. classified
i)  made new again
9. conspiracy theorist
j)  a remarkable thing that may not be completely understood
10. poll
k)  an unedited video capture
11. let on
l)  a person who believes others are plotting something unlawful
12. come to fruition or harmful

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 UFOs & Aliens
Discussion Starters

Reading
UFOS & ALIENS
Are we alone?

1. Did you know that humans only make up 0.01% of life on earth? Plants “The universe is a
make up about 80%. Fungi, bacteria, animals, insects, microorganisms,
and viruses are other life-forms that we share our planet with. Does
pretty big place. If it
knowing this statistic change your belief about whether or not we’re is just us, seems like
alone in this universe? an awful waste
2. In a 2017 survey of people in 27 countries, at least 60% of people of space.”
admitted to believing in some form of life on other planets. Just under —Carl Sagan
50% of those believers also believe in the existence of intelligent alien
life-forms. More than half of these people think it’s a good idea to try
to communicate with extraterrestrials. But how can we find them?

3. In 2019, the US Navy admitted that mysterious video footage of

unidentified aerial objects, that had previously been released
by various media outlets, was indeed captured by its pilots. The
Navy prefers the term UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) over
UFO (unidentified flying object). UFOs are often associated with
conspiracies and hoaxes, and the Navy doesn’t want to discourage
pilots from reporting mysterious sightings. In fact, a new policy has
been put in place by the Navy with standardized criteria for
reporting UAPs.

4. Following the admission by the Navy about the UAP footage, there
was a renewed interest in Area 51. Area 51 is a highly classified US Note
Air Force facility in Nevada. Many conspiracy theorists believe this is
When used as a verb,
where the US government hides evidence of aliens and UFOs. Some the word “storm” means to
also believe that this is where the government researches time travel. move forcefully.
In 2019, a US poll suggested that 54% of Americans think the US
government knows more about UFOs than it lets on. A plan by
UFO enthusiasts to storm Area 51 in the summer of 2019 did
not come to fruition.

5. Though interest in UFOs spiked after the Navy admitted the UAP
footage was not a hoax, reports of UFO sightings in the US have
dropped significantly since 2014. What do you think is causing this
rapid decline?

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 UFOs & Aliens
Discussion Starters

Comprehension
Discuss these questions in pairs and write the answers in your notebook.

1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?

2. What does the reading say about communicating with aliens?

3. Why does the reading mention viruses?

4. Why does the US Navy use the term UAP rather than UFO?

5. How does the reading end?

Vocabulary Review
A. Collocations

Create six expressions by pairing the words that are commonly found
together in English. Write a sentence for each example.

Word List:
• put in • place • come to • interest
• fruition • renewed • whether • or not
• video • new • footage • policy

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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 UFOs & Aliens
Discussion Starters

Vocabulary Review cont.

B. Complete the Sentences

Complete the sentences using vocabulary from page 1.

You may need to change the word forms.

1. The Pentagon released               information about the UFO research program.

2. The UFO report was a               by a local media outlet for April Fool’s Day.

3. We need to get an               view to see the wreckage better.

4. Let’s take a               to see how many people believe in alien abductions.

5. I didn’t               that we already knew about the mysterious sighting.

6. We were going to go to the new science fiction movie on my birthday,

but our plan didn’t               .

C. Listen & Spell 

Listen to the question. Write a vocabulary word from page 1.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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 UFOs & Aliens
Discussion Starters

Irregular Plural Nouns

DICTIONARY WORK

A. Introduction

Words that are borrowed from other languages sometimes have irregular
plural endings. Depending on which dictionary you use, more than one
ending may be listed as acceptable.

B. Reference Work

Work with a partner. Choose a dictionary. Complete

the chart by adding the following words to the correct
column(s). Then find and write the missing word
form. Compare your findings with a group that used
a different dictionary.

• nucleus • media
• fungi • crises
• phenomena • criteria
• syllabus • dice

Singular Form(s) Plural Form(s)

nucleus nuclei / nucleuses

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 UFOs & Aliens
Discussion Starters

Discussion
1. What’s the difference between a UFO enthusiast and
a conspiracy theorist?

2. Do you believe the US has something to hide at Area 51?

3. What beliefs do people have about UFOs and aliens in other countries?

4. Are you interested in science fiction books or films? Why or why not?

5. If we did encounter extraterrestrials, how do you think humans would

communicate with them?

6. What type of transportation would extraterrestrials most likely use?

7. Why do you think there is a decline in UFO sightings?

8. Would a visit from extraterrestrials be the greatest news of all time?

Out of This World

DESCRIBE AN EXTR ATERRESTRIAL

If extraterrestrials do exist, what do you think they look like, and why?
What intellectual or behavioral traits do they have, and how do they
communicate? Work in a small group and create a description of
an extraterrestrial. Use a dictionary to find at least three new
adjectives to use to describe your alien to the class. Teach these
words to your classmates. After everyone has presented, vote on
the most likely extraterrestrial.

Adjectives for Aliens

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 UFOs & Aliens
Discussion Starters

Listening
Fill in the blanks as you listen to the recording.

UFOS & ALIENS

Are we alone?

1. Did you know that humans only make up 0.01% of life on earth? Plants
make up about 80%.              , bacteria, animals,
insects, microorganisms, and viruses are other life-forms that we share
our planet with. Does knowing this              change
your belief about whether or not we’re alone in this universe?

2. In a 2017 survey of people in 27 countries, at least 60% of people

             to believing in some form of life on other
planets. Just under 50% of those believers also believe in the existence
of intelligent alien life-forms. More than half of these people think it’s
a good idea to try to communicate with              . But
how can we find them?

3. In 2019, the US Navy admitted that mysterious video footage of

unidentified              objects, that had previously
been released by various media outlets, was indeed captured by
its pilots. The Navy prefers the term UAP (unidentified aerial
             ) over UFO (unidentified flying object). UFOs
are often associated with conspiracies and hoaxes, and the Navy doesn’t
want to discourage pilots from reporting mysterious sightings.
In fact, a new policy has been put in place by the Navy
with              criteria for reporting UAPs.

4. Following the admission by the Navy about the UAP footage,

there was a              interest in Area 51. Area 51
is a highly classified US Air Force facility in Nevada. Many
             theorists believe this is where the US
government hides evidence of aliens and UFOs. Some also believe that
this is where the government researches time travel. In 2019, a US poll
suggested that 54% of Americans think the US government knows more
about UFOs than it lets on. A plan by UFO enthusiasts to storm Area 51
in the summer of 2019 did not come to              .

5. Though interest in UFOs spiked after the Navy admitted the UAP footage
was not a              , reports of UFO sightings in the US
have dropped significantly since 2014. What do you think is causing this
rapid              ?

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