Vocabulary Practice A. Matching. Read the information below. Then match each word in red with its definition. Crop circles have been seen in the U.K., Australia, Russia, and about 50 other countries. But how—and for what purpose—are they made? A family in a quiet farmland area wakes up one morning to find something very unusual: someone has cut strange shapes into their crop fields! These huge designs are called crop circles. There are circles, stars, even images of animals. But where do these crop circles come from? Some people think that UFOs make crop circles when they land in fields. Others say they are made by aliens from space, but no one knows the purpose. Another—more realistic—idea is that some people decide to build crop circles as a hobby, or as a kind of art. The technology to make crop circles is very simple—just a rope and a piece of wood. Some teachers and students have built crop circles for fun. Crop circles are real—there are photographs and reports of about 12,000 of them. But more research is needed before we really know how and why these shapes are made. 1. to make something _______________ 2. a pattern, shape, or plan _______________ 3. a picture of a person or thing _______________ 4. to choose to do something _______________ 5. a place, part, or region _______________ 6. the reason for doing something _______________ Crop circles are popular with 7. true or actual _______________ tourists. “We get tens of thousands 8. trying to discover facts about something _______________ of people coming to the U.K. each year just to look at them,” says 9. outside the Earth; where stars and planets are _______________ Karen Alexander, co-author of 10. using science and machines to do things _______________ Crop Circles: Signs, Wonders, and Mysteries. B. Words in Context. Complete each sentence with the best answer. 1. Research is an important part of a(n) __________’s job. a. scientist b. artist 2. An example of technology is a __________. a. computer b. song 3. The purpose of Reading Explorer is to __________. a. have 160 pages b. help you read better 4. You can __________ an image of a bird. a. see b. hear
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Usage Both research and design can be used as a noun and a verb: Professor Baker is researching UFOs. His research will take five years. What do you think of my new design? I designed it myself.
1A Aliens and UFOs
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