The Sky Went Green

Vocabulary

claim pincer wrinkled

bang aliens UFO (Unidentified Flying Object)

Everyone thought that Gulf Breeze in the USA was an ordinary, quiet little town until 11 November 1977. Two friends, Ed Walters and Charlie Bennett reported a very strange incident. At first nobody believed their story, but even today, both Charlie and Ed claim that the incident really happened. Here is a part of an interview which was shown on Florida News the day after the kidnapping.

It was seven o'clock in the evening. My friend Charlie and I were walking through the park. We were going home. We were talking and laughing. Suddenly the sky went very dark. Charlie looked up and said, "It's going to rain." Then I heard a loud bang and the sky went bright green. I thought I was dreaming. There was a huge shiny spaceship just above our heads. It wasn't moving. It was pulling us off the ground. Seconds later we were inside it. Twenty strange creatures were looking at us. They all had wrinkled skin and hands like pincers. They didn't hurt us. They were smiling and they seemed very friendly.

I don't know how long we were in space, but I think the spaceship was moving. Suddenly the door opened underneath us. We fell out of the spaceship onto the ground. We were back in the park again. Charlie and I just stared at each other. We were shaking because we were so scared. Then we ran home as fast as we could. That's all Charlie and I can remember. I know it sounds crazy but it's the truth.

On 11 November 1982, exactly five years after the kidnapping, more strange things happened in Gulf Breeze. Cars disappeared, cats started to fly and several people saw spaceships in the sky.

Activity

News Flash

Work with a partner. Partner A is a television reporter. Partner B is Charlie. Use the table to ask and answer questions with the Past Indefinite and the Past Continuous.

Partner A	Partner B
Where / you? What / date? What / you / doing? Where / you / go? How many / aliens? What / aliens / look / like?	park November 1977 talk / laugh home twenty wrinkled / skin

Example:

Where were you when this happened?



I was in the park.

Exercise 121

Truth or Fiction?

A Some other people in Gulf Breeze told reporters that they had seen the

UFO. Look at the pictures and read what they told the reporter. Match the

names of the speakers to the people.

BILL JACOBS	I was working in the garden when I saw a very bright light. I heard a loud noise. I went inside and locked the door.
JIM SHORT	I was driving my car when suddenly I heard a loud bang. I thought someone had crashed into my car.
PAM BAKER	I was at home watching TV. It was very late at night and I noticed that it was raining. Suddenly I heard a strange whistling noise. I looked out of the window and saw a huge object like an aeroplane flying through the sky.
BOB ROBBINS	I was walking with my dog in the fields when suddenly he started barking. It was getting dark but the sky was green. It was frightening, so we ran home.

B One of the people in ( A ) invented stories about the UFO. Read Ed's

article again. Who do you think was lying? Discuss the answer with a

partner and write down the untrue statements.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

C Read the questions very carefully, then say the answers.

1. What was Bill doing when he saw the light?

2. What did Pam do when he heard the noise?

3. What did Bob and hid dog do when the sky went green?

4. What was Jim doing when he heard the bang?

5. What was Pam doing when she heard the noise?

6. What did Bill do when he saw the light?

7. What did Jim do when he heard the bang?

8. What were Bob and his dog doing when the sky went green?

Exercise 122