U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alien Technology in Flying Objects, but can’t rule it out, either
WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have found no evidence that aerial phenomena observed by Navy pilots in recent years are alien spacecraft, but they still cannot explain the unusual movements that have mystified scientists and the military.
The report determines that a vast majority of more than 120 incidents over the past two decades did not originate from any American military or other advanced US government technology, the officials said. That determination would appear to eliminate the possibility that Navy pilots who reported seeing unexplained aircraft might have encountered programs the government meant to keep secret.
But that is about the only conclusive finding in the classified intelligence report, the officials said. And while a forthcoming unclassified version, expected to be released to Congress by June 25, will present few other firm conclusions, senior officials briefed on the intelligence conceded that the very ambiguity of the findings meant the government could not definitively rule out theories that the phenomena observed by military pilots might be alien spacecraft.
Americans’ long-running fascination with UFOs has intensified in recent weeks in anticipation of the release of the government report. Former President Barack Obama encouraged the interest when he gave an interview last month about the incidents on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on CBS.
“What is true, and I’m really being serious here,” Mr. Obama said, “is that there is film and records of objects in the skies that we don’t know exactly what they are.’’ The report concedes that much about the observed phenomena remains difficult to explain, including their acceleration, as well as ability to change direction and submerge. One possible explanation — that the phenomena could be weather balloons or other research balloons — does not hold up in all cases, the officials said, because of changes in wind speed at the times of some of the interactions.
Many of the more than 120 incidents examined in the report are from Navy personnel, officials said. The report also examined incidents involving foreign militaries over the last two decades. Intelligence officials believe that at least some of the aerial phenomena could have been experimental technology from a rival power, most likely Russia or China.
One senior official said without hesitation that U.S. officials knew it was not American technology. He said there was worry among intelligence and military officials that China or Russia could be experimenting with hypersonic technology.
He and other officials spoke about the classified findings in the report on the condition of anonymity.
Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/us/politics/ufos-sighting-alien-spacecraft-pentagon.html>. Retrieved on: July 7, 2021.
In the 6th paragraph of the text, the highlighted expression as well as, in the fragment “as well as ability to change direction and submerge” is associated with the idea of
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Alternativa correta: A expressão "as well as" é utilizada para indicar adição, ou seja, ela conecta duas ideias semelhantes ou complementares. No contexto da frase, "as well as ability to change direction and submerge" está acrescentando mais uma característica dos fenômenos observados, que é a habilidade de mudar de direção e submergir. Essa função de adição é uma das principais características de conectivos como "as well as".
Alternativas incorretas:
A: A alternativa "tempo" está incorreta pois "as well as" não indica uma relação temporal. Conectivos que expressam tempo, como "before" ou "after", não se aplicam aqui.
C: A alternativa "propósito" é inadequada, pois "as well as" não expressa uma intenção ou finalidade. Conectivos que indicam propósito, como "in order to" ou "so that", não se relacionam com a expressão em questão.
D: A alternativa "condição" é errada, pois "as well as" não estabelece uma condição. Conectivos como "if" ou "unless" são usados para expressar condições, o que não ocorre neste caso.
E: A alternativa "consequência" é incorreta, já que "as well as" não implica uma relação de causa e efeito. Conectivos que indicam consequência, como "therefore" ou "as a result", não se aplicam à expressão analisada.
