Inside Out

The unexplained WORKSHEET A

Exercise 1
Can you match the words in the table below to the definitions?

spooky imagination psychic dream

haunted ghost alien UFO

1. ____________
(noun) the spirit of a dead person that someone sees or hears

2. ____________
(noun) a strange object that flies through the sky that no one can recognise

3. ____________
(adjective) lived in or visited by the spirit of a dead person

4. ____________
(noun) something that you experience in your mind while you are sleeping

5. ____________
(noun) the ability to form pictures or original ideas in your mind.

6. ____________
(adjective) strange and frightening

7. ____________
(noun) someone who says they know what other people are thinking or what is going
to happen to them

8. ____________
(noun) a creature from another planet

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 Inside Out
The unexplained WORKSHEET B

Jane
I used to like reading books about unexplained things like ghosts and UFOs, but I
never really believed in any of that stuff, and I still think there’s probably a scientific
explanation for all of it.
I have a friend who says he once saw a ghost, but he already believed in ghosts before
it happened. For me it’s obvious that people who believe in spooky things are more
likely to think they’ve experienced them.
Anyway, he says that when he was staying with friends who live in a very old house,
he saw the ghost of a woman dressed in weird clothes, like she was from hundreds of
years ago. He says he saw the woman in his bedroom when he woke up in the middle
of the night. But his friends had already told him that they believed the house was
haunted. I think he was probably dreaming, or maybe he just made up the whole
thing.

Stuart
When you think about all the UFO sightings around the world, of course some of
them are just a result of people’s imagination, but in other cases the only possible
explanation is that these objects really are alien spaceships.
If you think about the size of the universe, how can you believe we’re alone in it?
Why can’t there be aliens out there who want to come and visit us?
I’ve never seen a UFO myself, but my dad has. It was about forty years ago, when he
was a pilot. He was flying at night when he saw a strange orange shape about a mile
away from his plane. For about five minutes the shape was following him, then
suddenly it moved away at an incredible speed, much faster than any aircraft can fly.

Siobhan
There are lots of strange things that science can’t explain, especially things to do with
the power of the human mind. I know some people who are psychics, who can see
into the future or know what other people are thinking, or even make events happen
just by thinking about them. I’ve also met people who can remember the people they
used to be in previous lives.
I think most of us have a little bit of the power that psychics have. For example, have
you ever had that weird ‘déjà vu’ feeling, when something happens and you feel like
you’ve experienced it before? Maybe one day science will explain all this, but it
hasn’t done it yet.
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 Inside Out
The unexplained WORKSHEET C

Exercise 2
Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), or if the text doesn’t
say (D).
1. Stuart has seen a UFO.
2. Jane thinks that believing in things like ghosts makes you less likely to see them.
3. Siobhan believes that some people can read other people’s minds.
4. Jane has seen a UFO, but not recently.
5. Siobhan believes in reincarnation.
6. Jane’s friend says the ghost spoke to him.
7. Stuart thinks that all UFOs are spaceships from other planets.
8. Siobhan thinks that in the future science might explain these strange things.
9. For about five minutes David’s dad flew behind the UFO that he saw.
10. Jane’s friend thinks he saw a ghost inside the house he was staying in.
Exercise 3
Now complete the crossword below. If all the words are correct, another expression
people often use to describe UFOs will read from top to bottom.
1
L
2
3
4
G

5
A
U
6
7
8

1. Stuart’s dad says the UFO __________ him for about five minutes.
2. Siobhan says she has met some __________.
3. Jane doesn’t really __________ in ghosts or UFOs.
4. Jane’s friend had already heard that the house was __________ before he saw the
ghost.
5. Stuart’s dad said that the UFO flew incredibly __________.
6. Siobhan believes that __________ can’t explain everything.
7. Jane thinks it’s possible that the ghost her friend saw was only in a __________.
8. ‘Déjà vu’ is when something happens and you get the strange feeling that you’ve
seen it __________.
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 Inside Out
The unexplained – Glossary
aircraft noun [count] planet noun [count]
a plane, helicopter, or other vehicle that flies. a very large round object that moves around the Sun
or another star
case noun [count] planet Earth
an example or instance of something
a bad case of food poisoning previous adjective
a previous event, period, or thing happened or existed
creature noun [count] before the one that you are talking about
anything that lives except plants Mark has two children from a previous marriage.
a small furry creature
reincarnation noun [uncount]
experience verb the belief that after you die you can be born again as
if you experience a problem or a situation, you a different person, animal, or thing
have that problem or are in that situation Do you believe in reincarnation?
The country is experiencing economic problems.
spirit noun [count]
explanation noun [count/uncount] the part of a person that many people believe
a reason you give for something that has happened continues to exist after death
The explanation for this is simple. His spirit will always be with us.

follow verb recognise verb

to walk, drive etc behind someone, when you are
going in the same direction as them
Ralph set off down the hill, and I followed.
incredible adjective
surprising, or difficult to believe
They all have incredible stories to tell.
likely adjective
probably going to happen, or probably true
It’s likely to rain tomorrow.
make up phrasal verb
to invent an explanation for something
He made up some excuse about the dog eating his
homework.
to know who the person is or what the thing is that
you are seeing, hearing etc because you have seen,
heard etc them before
I recognised the house from your description.
scientific adjective
relating to science, or based on its methods
a scientific truth/fact/claim
sighting noun [count]
an occasion when you see something, especially
something unusual or something that you have been
looking for
spaceship noun [count]
a vehicle that can travel in space

mile noun [count] speed noun [count/uncount]

a unit for measuring distance, equal to 1.609 the rate at which someone or something moves
kilometres or 1,760 yards They were working with incredible speed.

mind noun [count/uncount] stuff noun [uncount]

the part of you that thinks, knows, remembers, and things that are not important
feels things I’m telling him we don’t want all that stupid stuff
His mind was full of the things he had seen that here.
day.
weird adjective
obvious adjective strange and unusual
clear to almost anyone I had a weird dream last night.
The most obvious explanation is not always the
correct one. universe noun [singular]
space and everything that exists in it, including the
pilot noun [count] Earth and all the other planets
someone who flies an aircraft The origins of the universe are still a mystery.
He’s training to be an airline pilot.
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nd
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008. Definitions from the Macmillan English Dictionary 2 Edition © 2007 and the
Macmillan Essential Dictionary © 2003, A&C Black Publishers Ltd www.macmillandictionaries.com