1
i sit at my desk listening to thunder growl outside my window. flashes of light burst through the darkness, and wind races past my window. the thrilling combination of sight and sound conjures up visions of dragons roaring proudly, breathing fire, and soaring across the midnight sky. dragons first fascinated me when i was a little girl. they have followed me ever since. the magnificent creatures appeared in storybooks i read in the library, paintings i saw in museums, movies i watched in the theater, and the dreams i had in my sleep. by the time i was thirteen, one question consumed me. i wanted to know if dragons ever existed, so i set out on a quest for facts.
2
as i started my research, i discovered many skeptics. scientists presented evidence to show why dragons could not—and did not—exist. they explained that it would be impossible for dragons to fly because they would be too big. they laughed at the idea of dragons breathing fire. they pointed out that no other animal has ever done this. they said that if dragons had lived, someone would have found remains somewhere in the world. no bones about it, there were plenty of logical explanations. it would have been easy for me to accept that the only place dragons ever existed was in the imaginations of those who believed.
3
i could have given up, but i thought about my grandmother. she always told me that "people who believe that science is the answer to everything are missing out on everything else." with her words in mind, i searched some more. there were many facts that hinted that dragons may not be fictional. i noticed that cultures across the world all described dragons in similar ways. this was odd because they had no way to communicate with each other. i found dragons mentioned in more than just stories. they appeared in old legal papers, in the travel logs of marco polo, and in the bible. i saw that the chinese calendar uses a different animal each year. dragons are included along with eleven real animals. i began to believe it was a real possibility that all of these people were talking about a creature that actually existed.
4
with renewed hope that there was some truth to the legends, i looked for new research. i found that some experts disagreed with popular arguments against dragons. they suggested that a dragon could have four stomachs like a cow. if it created stomach gases like birds, it might create enough to lift itself off the ground. this would give it the ability to fly. if it forced out air when diving toward the earth, it might release gases which could ignite into flame. when the animal died, the stomachs would release strong acids that would dissolve its dead body over time. biologists backed up these ideas with sketches and models based on known animals. not everyone agreed with these ideas, but many of the things we accept about dinosaurs and other extinct species started the same way.
5
i doubt we will ever truly know whether dragons existed. there may always be two sides to the fiery debate. some will say the stories come from active imaginations. some will believe with all their hearts that the legendary creatures roamed our ancient world. i don't know for certain which side to believe, but the sound and fury of a night like this makes me smile. it rekindles my childhood dreams and keeps the exciting possibility alive.

in paragraph 5, the author discusses two sides to the dragon debate. which statement best summarizes the ideas in the paragraph?

the author implicitly states that she believes that dragons once existed.
the author explicitly states that she believes that dragons once existed.
the author implicitly states that she believes that dragons did not exist.
the author explicitly states that she believes that dragons did not exist.