Is the truth hidden somewhere, or perhaps it’s not? The annual UFO festival in Roswell, New Mexico, draws thousands of

Is the truth hidden somewhere, or perhaps it’s not? The annual UFO festival in Roswell, New Mexico, draws thousands of attendees to this remote desert town. This year, our travel journalist, Ruth Bradley, embarked on a new UFO Discovery Tour, exploring significant locations connected to the famous 1947 Roswell UFO incident. Did her extraordinary encounter lead her to become a genuine believer? Initially, when my editor assigned me to cover a UFO discovery tour, I wasn’t enthusiastic. 1| A few days later, I arrived at the New Mexico airport, where the tour’s welcoming guide and fellow UFO enthusiasts greeted me. Our journey to the hotel took us along bustling highways adorned with UFO-themed diners, souvenir shops, and even UFO-themed motels. Billboards and road signs featured little gray aliens with enormous insect-like eyes. 2 In any case, I had a hunch that this assignment would provide some entertainment! The next morning, we visited the location in Roswell where cattle farmer Mack Brazel stumbled upon substantial pieces of metal and a large crater on July 8, 1947. Our guide informed us that shortly after Brazel reported his discovery, the newspaper claimed he had encountered a flying saucer. However, the following day, they changed their account and insisted it was not a UFO but simply a weather balloon. I ventured away from the group and searched the grass, half-hoping to find a final remnant of the craft. 3 I must admit that the story thus far was captivating, and I found myself looking forward to the upcoming part of the tour, where we would explore «Building 84.» This massive aircraft hangar on the old army base was where the peculiar craft’s remains were taken for examination. It was an impressive sight. 4 They said it was constructed from a material as light as plastic, as durable as steel, impervious to fire, and covered in strange hieroglyphics. Some even claimed to have seen extraterrestrial bodies. The day concluded with a visit to the UFO Museum, and I was engrossed by eerie sketches of alien bodies on autopsy tables drawn by a nurse who worked at the base hospital at the time. 5 The following day, we ventured to the town of Socorro, where in 1964, respected police officer Lonnie Zamora reported an oval-shaped object with two small beings inside. As he approached, blue flames erupted from the craft, and it soared into the sky. When Zamora returned with fellow officers, all that remained were scorch marks on the ground and peculiar footprints. The locals in this area had numerous stories like this, and I inquired whether we would return home with our own UFO story. 6 That night, we camped in one of Nevada Desert’s UFO hotspots. As we gazed up at the dark sky, a couple from Phoenix, Arizona, recounted their experience from March 1997 when they witnessed a peculiar formation of lights hovering above the city. They were not alone; more than 10,000 locals had observed the strange phenomenon, and there was even video footage of it. 7 What better memento to bring back to the editor than a photograph of a genuine UFO! I still have reservations about the existence of UFOs and aliens. Nevertheless, after spending a night beneath the stars in the eerie Nevada Desert, I must concede that if intelligent beings from a distant world decided to visit Earth, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they selected this as their destination! Match the bold words/phrases with their meanings: ascended rapidly, disturbed, felt disheartened, obliterated remnants, ambled aimlessly, eerie and unsettling, suspended in the same position, frightening.