Оригинал на английском:
42 A. Look at the pictures (1-6), read the texts (a-f) and say what mysteries are connected with these places and phenomena. Mention if you believe that they will ever be solved.
a) The Loch Ness Monster, also Nessie, a very large animal, supposed to live in Loch Ness (a large, very deep lake in Northern Scotland) which people say does not look like any other animal alive today. Although some people believe the Loch Ness Monster really exists and say they have seen it, there is no scientific proof and for most people it is just a story. It is often shown in pictures as a creature like a large black or green dinosaur.
b) Atlantis [at'lsentis] — an island which according to an old Greek legend sank beneath the sea, in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar. This island was the seat of an ancient and advanced civilisation. It was a powerful island empire seeking to dominate the Mediterranean world. The expansionist plans of the Atlantis were ended only when their army was defeated by Athens. Shortly afterwards an earthquake caused Atlantis to sink beneath the ocean. Later writers were interested in the legend of Atlantis. Although traditional accounts of Atlantis have been proved false, some archaeologists believe that this culture really existed and don't lose hope to find it.
c) The Egyptian Pyramids — tremendous stone structures, kings' tombs. The ancient Egyptian kings believed that their future lives depended upon the perfect preservation of their bodies. The dead were therefore embalmed, and the mummies were hidden below the level of the ground in the interior of those great masses of stone. No one knows how old the pyramids are and how exactly they were built. A thousand years before Christ, they were already old and mysterious. It is believed that if people get inside these huge tombs they will be punished and may die.
d) UEOs — Unidentified Flying Objects in the sky, often thought to be spacecraft piloted by creatures from other worlds. Not many people believe that UFOs really exist, but there are witnesses from different parts of the world who claim to have seen such objects and even been inside them having met representatives from other parts of the universe. UFOs often appear in science fiction stories and films.
e) The Bermuda Triangle — an area in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda (a group of islands), Florida and Puerto Rico where many ships and aircraft are supposed to have mysteriously disappeared with no wrecks ever found. The Bermuda Triangle is also called the Devil's Triangle. The disappearance of ships and planes on a number of occasions has led to speculation about unexplainable turbulences and other atmospheric disturbances. Violent storms often occur there, but studies have not revealed any significant peculiarities about the area.
f) A yeti or the Abominable Snowman is a giant hairy creature which is supposed to live in the Himalayas. Himalayan tribesmen believe that this creature roams the mountains at night searching for victims. It is described as an animal walking like a human with the appearance of an ape. The yeti legend first became known in 1921, when English explorers found tracks in the snow resembling huge human footprints. Several scientific expeditions failed to find any other evidence of the yeti's existence.
B Do you know any other mysterious facts? Speak about them.
a) The Loch Ness Monster, also Nessie, a very large animal, supposed to live in Loch Ness (a large, very deep lake in Northern Scotland) which people say does not look like any other animal alive today. Although some people believe the Loch Ness Monster really exists and say they have seen it, there is no scientific proof and for most people it is just a story. It is often shown in pictures as a creature like a large black or green dinosaur.
b) Atlantis [at'lsentis] — an island which according to an old Greek legend sank beneath the sea, in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar. This island was the seat of an ancient and advanced civilisation. It was a powerful island empire seeking to dominate the Mediterranean world. The expansionist plans of the Atlantis were ended only when their army was defeated by Athens. Shortly afterwards an earthquake caused Atlantis to sink beneath the ocean. Later writers were interested in the legend of Atlantis. Although traditional accounts of Atlantis have been proved false, some archaeologists believe that this culture really existed and don't lose hope to find it.
c) The Egyptian Pyramids — tremendous stone structures, kings' tombs. The ancient Egyptian kings believed that their future lives depended upon the perfect preservation of their bodies. The dead were therefore embalmed, and the mummies were hidden below the level of the ground in the interior of those great masses of stone. No one knows how old the pyramids are and how exactly they were built. A thousand years before Christ, they were already old and mysterious. It is believed that if people get inside these huge tombs they will be punished and may die.
d) UEOs — Unidentified Flying Objects in the sky, often thought to be spacecraft piloted by creatures from other worlds. Not many people believe that UFOs really exist, but there are witnesses from different parts of the world who claim to have seen such objects and even been inside them having met representatives from other parts of the universe. UFOs often appear in science fiction stories and films.
e) The Bermuda Triangle — an area in the Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda (a group of islands), Florida and Puerto Rico where many ships and aircraft are supposed to have mysteriously disappeared with no wrecks ever found. The Bermuda Triangle is also called the Devil's Triangle. The disappearance of ships and planes on a number of occasions has led to speculation about unexplainable turbulences and other atmospheric disturbances. Violent storms often occur there, but studies have not revealed any significant peculiarities about the area.
f) A yeti or the Abominable Snowman is a giant hairy creature which is supposed to live in the Himalayas. Himalayan tribesmen believe that this creature roams the mountains at night searching for victims. It is described as an animal walking like a human with the appearance of an ape. The yeti legend first became known in 1921, when English explorers found tracks in the snow resembling huge human footprints. Several scientific expeditions failed to find any other evidence of the yeti's existence.
B Do you know any other mysterious facts? Speak about them.