The Mysterious Marfa Lights

The author organizes the entire article by -

• telling where the Marfa lights occur and how they look and act

• comparing the Marfa lights to soccer balls and then describing how they move

• discussing ideas of what causes the lights and then persuading readers to go see them

• presenting the Marfa lights as a problem and them telling how scientists solved it

Which statement from the article is a supporting detail?

• Several studies have attempted to find the source of the Marfa lights.

• Today, the Marfa lights are a tourist attraction.

• There are many ideas about what causes the Marfa lights.

• In 1883, a railroad engineer suggested they were kerosene lanterns at a nearby ranch.

Which statement accurately summarizes the main idea of the entire article?

• Many people have witnessed the Marfa lights.

• The Marfa lights are a well described but poorly understood phenomenon.

• Scientists will eventually figure out what causes the Marfa lights.

• Once the Marfa lights are explained, they'll be less interesting to tourists.

Which of these best summarizes the article?

• The Marfa lights are colorful and the size of soccer balls. A rancher named Robert Ellison first saw them in 1883. Nobody knows the cause of the Marfa lights, but anyone can travel to Marfa and see them during the annual festival.

• Marfa, Texas, is a small town famous for unexplained lights that regularly appear. The U.S. Army, local pilots, phisics students, and engineers have all failed to explain what causes them. Despite the dangers, tourists still come to Marfa to see the lights.

• For more than 100 years, mysterious lights have regularly appeared near Marfa, Texas. Despite multiple sightings and studies, nobody is certain what causes them. The lights are a tourist attraction, and any interested person can try to see them.

• The Marfa lights are small, fast-moving, and mysterious. Only a handful of people have seen them, and nobody knows what causes them. Every year, scientists, engineers, and students come to Marfa to study them.

Based on the article, the reader can infer -

• the writer believes the Marfa lights are caused by car headlights

• the writer finds the Marfa lights interesting

• the writer does not think that scientists should explain the mystery of the lights

• the writer believes the mystery of the lights will be solved