Question

eyes upturned, three boaters watched uneasily as a glowing object flitted across the sky. was it a drone? a rocket? a jet?
not possible—the strange incident happened nearly three centuries before the first successful airplane was invented.
the 1639 account of the sighting comes from the diary of john winthrop. he was the governor of the massachusetts bay colony at the time. the diary entry describes the unusual situation three men found themselves in while rowing their boat through the muddy river. the lighted object, winthrop wrote, alternately stood still and flared, then darted across the sky, and \contracted into the figure of a swine.\ the strange, pig - shaped object remained visible for a few hours, shooting back and forth across a distance of about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers). then, it mysteriously faded away—untraceable and unforgettable.
once their attention returned to their task, the men were startled to discover they were now a mile (1.6 kilometers) upstream. they had no recollection of rowing against the current, winthrop wrote. that part isnt entirely unexplainable, though—their boat could have been carried by wind or a reverse tidal flow. or the men may have just been so fascinated by the sight above them that they didnt notice their movement.
the boaters werent the only witnesses to the extraordinary oddity, according to winthrop. \other credible persons saw the same light, after, about the same place,\ he wrote.
five years later, winthrop recorded a report of another incidence of lights \like the moon\ rising from different places, then joining together as one before parting again. over and over, the lights joined and parted, he wrote—sometimes shooting out flames, other times appearing to sparkle. this time
question 2
based on the article, which of these is true about the first reported ufo sighting in the u.s.?
a. the first sighting lasted only a few minutes and was dismissed as unimportant.
b. the first sighting was witnessed by men who were setting off fireworks.
c. the first sighting sparkled like lights from the moon that were joined together.
d. the first sighting darted back and forth for several hours before fading away.

Explanation:

• Option A: The text says the object remained visible for a few hours, not a few minutes.
• Option B: The men were rowing a boat, not setting off fireworks.
• Option C: This description is about an event five years later, not the first sighting.
• Option D: The text states "the strange, pig - shaped object remained visible for a few hours, shooting back and forth across a distance of about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers). Then, it mysteriously faded away".

Answer:

D. The first sighting darted back and forth for several hours before fading away.