Science Fiction

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 676.

Read this magazine article about science fiction and scientific reality and choose the most suitable heading from the list A – F for each part 1 – 5 of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use.

Text 2.

D. FAST FORWARD

C. SWEET DREAMS

Between April and September 1997, 13 healthy villagers, in Camigliano, Italy, fell asleep for periods of between 15 and 36 hours. Doctors were unable to give a scientific explanation of what had happened, and it was suggested at the time that the village had been visited by UFOs.

After a long investigation when evidence was found in their home, Mariano and Claudia Rocchi were arrested, and were charged with poisoning the villagers' food and drink. The couple had hoped to become rich by being employed to look after the victims.

On the night of 30 March 1990, both the Belgian police and NATO picked up UFO on their radar screens. Two fighter jets were sent to investigate. The planes followed the object on their radar, but it moved away at incredible speed. After a 75 minutes chase, the UFO disappeared completely.

The event was seen by many people. They all agreed that they had seen a triangle of coloured lights on the bottom of a huge spaceship. The Belgian government admitted that it had no idea what it was. Research teams in Europe have still found no logical explanation for what happened, and many people are sure that it was an alien ship.

A Accurate predictions

B But what of the future?

C Changing attitudes

D Failed projects

E New developments

F Think twice

1. If we go back in time, over a hundred years ago, the fantasies of science-fiction writers like Jules Verne were laughed at. Now we take their predictions a lot more seriously. Feature films and TV series not only entertain the public, they also inspire serious novelists.

2. The exploration of outer space or astronauts landing on the moon is already old history. Spaceships circle the earth and other missions have gone to Mars. Robots are no longer a new phenomenon and the arrival of replicants – genetically engineered humans – is almost with us. Whether these developments represent our best hope of a bright future or a terrifying nightmare is a matter of opinion. What they all have in common is the fact that they first appeared on the cinema screen.

3. Does all this mean that the planet will soon be under threat from an evil empire of deadly aliens or that robots will want to destroy their masters? Most scientists think not. But even if we haven't yet matched the dreams of some science fiction writers, progress is fast and we can expect to see an incredible number of exciting new things in the next 20 years.

4. Remember the transporter machine in Star Trek? Scientists at Stanford University in California have succeeded in transporting a small object to the other side of town. What they actually made was a three-dimensional copy, but it is still a great achievement. We often think that time travel, as in the film Back to the Future, is just a fantasy. However, this could be a reality in the not too distant future.

5. So when you're next at the cinema, watching Star Wars Episode 9 or Star Trek XY, enjoy the latest battle between the evil dark knight and the farm boy hero. Enjoy the race against time to save the crew of the stranded spaceship. But remember: life imitates art as much as art imitates life.