Advanced English Reading and Comprehension

Near-death experiences: Fact or fantasy? 39

Arguments for the

existence of NDEs

Arguments against

the existence of NDEs

Critical thinking

3 · 9

EXERCISE

Making evaluationsIndicate which of the following experiences conform (✓)

or do not conform (X) to a near-death experience.

1. I entered a room full of famous people. There I met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
   Mother Teresa, and talked to them for what seemed to be a long time.


2. I could hear beautiful, harmonious music coming from all directions. It was almost
   angelic, like something I’d never heard before.


3. I could feel myself loating above the operating table, and as I hovered, I could look
   down on the doctors as they tried to revive me.


4. All of a sudden, I woke up on another planet, like Mars, or the moon. It was like
   I was in a science-iction movie, and there were all these strange creatures, like
   robots, looking down at me.


5. I felt a deep peace and happiness, like I had come home, and I had no sensation
   of pain, only joy and calm.


6. I was very confused and terriied, and all I wanted was to return to my body and get
   out of this cold place that felt like a grave.


7. Suddenly, everything went black, and when I woke up, I could remember nothing.


8. At irst, I entered a dark tunnel, but the light got much brighter as I moved up and
   into it. In the light, I could see my grandmother and my little sister, who died when
   she was a small child. They were holding hands and smiling at me.