Ex. 7: Choose the right answer

Ex. 1 True of false?

1. The Bermuda Triangle lies in the centre of the Atlantic.
2. It was Christopher Columbus who referred to this area as “the Triangle”.
3. Columbus saw strange things in the sky the day before he “discovered” America.
4. As some state more than 20 planes vanished in the area over the period of 150 years.
5. The Triangle legend did not draw media attention until “Flight 19” case.
6. Six planes were lost in the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945.
7. There are few explanations of the Triangle mystery.
8. The ocean in this are is generally calm, no strong currents.
9. The ocean is very deep there.
10. Numerous mishaps associated with the Triangle led to the military and civil craft having been banned to pass through this region.
11. Lots of books were written on the subject some of which became bestsellers.
12. People have already lost the interest in the Triangle phenomenon.

Ex. 2 Translate into English

Зона, граничить, необъяснимый, прозвище, поблизости, нести, свидетельство, вспышка, горизонт, по настоящему, скандально-известный, рутинный, тренировочный полет, без следа, заброшенный (покинутый), отсутствие, луч, похищение, приписывать (что-либо кому/чему-либо), предполагаемый, мнение, улучшать, задерживаться (оставаться), крестить, фантастика (выдумка).

 

Ex. 3 Translate into English

1. У этого региона много прозвищ, самое известное –Бермудский Треугольник, хотя есть и другие. Например, Сумеречная Зона. 2. Необьяснимые исчезновения кораблей и самолетов всегда привлекали общественный интерес к этому региону. Правда, скептики утверждают, что только малая часть катастроф, приписываемых Треугольнику, на самом деле случилась в его границах. 3.Когда корабль пересекал этот район, что-то странное начало происходить с компасом. Он, как будто, сошел с ума. 4. Неожиданно мы увидели огромный огненный шар, который пронесся по небу и рухнул в океан. «Это просто метеорит»,-сказал капитан. 5. Над горизонтом были замечены короткие, яркие вспышки света. Говорят, что этот феномен наблюдал еще Колумб в 15 веке. 6. Самолет исчез без следа, даже не послав сигнал бедствия. Несколько кораблей, отправленных на его поиски, тоже не вернулись. 7. На столе была еще теплая, нетронутая еда. Отсутствие людей на заброшенном корабле является свидетельством наличия каких-то мистических сил. 8. Возьмите карту и укажите на ней места наиболее известных морских катастроф. Нет, этот случай произошел в Индийском океане, а не в Атлантике. 9. Мнения по этой проблеме разделились. Некоторые винят во всем сильное течение и Пуэрто- Риканскую Впадину- самое глубокое место в Атлантическом океане. Вы знаете, где она находится? 10. Книга подстегнула интерес широких масс к этой проблеме. За несколько месяцев было продано 20 миллионов экземпляров. 11. Пуэрто- Рико граничит с США и Бермудскими островами.

 

Ex. 4 Complete the sentences, use the information from the text.

1. ….among which are the Limbo of the Lost and the Devil’s Triangle.
2. …where a lot of ships and planes have vanished since the mid 19^th century.
3. …which he described as “a great flame of fire”.
4. …were found abandoned.
5. …prove that the Triangle has some mysterious power.
6. Sometimes planes disappear and did not even make…
7. There are lots of explanations including…
8. In the Bermuda triangle there is the deepest…
9. To find the remains of the ships and aircraft lost in the Triangle we will need…
10. Some scientists suggest less fantastic explanations…
11. Up to 200 incidents are attributed to…

 

Ex. 5 Arrange the sentences into the chronological order and supply the dates for the events..

1. Charles Berlitz published his famous book The Bermuda Triangle
2. The Cyclops vanished with 309 men aboard.
3. Six US military planes disappeared.
4. The Poet was lost in the Triangle.
5. Vincent Gaddis gave the region its most famous nickname.

 

 

Ex. 6 The disappearance of Flight 19 (adapted and abridged)

When all the facts are closely inspected the tale of Flight 19 becomes less puzzling.
All of the crewmen of five bombers were rookies, with the exception of their patrol leader, Lt. Charles Taylor. Taylor was perhaps not at the height of his abilities that day, as some reports indicate that he had a hangover.

With the four inexperienced pilots entirely dependent on his guidance, Taylor found that his compass malfunctioned soon into the flight. Taylor chose to continue the flight navigating by sighting landmarks below. Being familiar with the islands of the Florida Keys Taylor had reason to feel confident in flying by sight. But visibility became poor due to stormy weather and he quickly became disoriented.

Flight 19 was still in radio contact with the Fort Lauderdale air base, although the weather made communication very bad. Taylor must have ended up thinking they were over the Gulf of Mexico, and ordered the patrol east in search of land. But in reality, they had been flying towards the Atlantic coastline, and Taylor was leading his trainees much further out to sea..
No known wreckage from Flight 19 has ever been recovered. One reasonable explanation is that Taylor led the planes so far into the Atlantic that they were past the continental shelf. Combining the circumstances of the failing compass, the difficulty of radio transmissions, and the absence of wreckage, tales of mysterious intervention began to take form. Even an official Navy report stated that the planes had disappeared "as if they had flown to Mars."

A search party was dispatched. Many claim that it disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle along with Flight 19. While it is true that it never returned, the plane is likely to have blown up soon after takeoff. This was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence, because these planes were known for their faulty gas tanks.

 

Vocabulary

Rooky новичок

Hangover похмелье

To dispatch посылать

To blow p взрываться

Occurrence происшествие

Faulty неисправный

 

Ex. 7: Choose the right answer

1. The Flight 19 pilots were

1. profession aviators b. inexperienced rookies c. amateurs

1. Charles Taylor was not at the height of his abilities:

1. because he was tired b. because he was not well c. because he had drunk too much the day before

1. Taylor was navigating by sight because

1. his compass did not work b. he had no compass c. he did not want to use the compass

1. The seaplane that was sent out to search for the bombers is supposed to

1. have been lost b. have exploded c. have been kidnapped by UFO

1. The writer suggests that

1. Taylor led the planes far to the Atlantic where they crashed into the ocean b. the planes were pulled down by Atlantis c. the planes flew to Mars