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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil. And I’m Beth.
你好。这里是BBC英语六分钟。我是尼尔。我是贝丝。
Now, you might know them as aliens, UFOs, little green men or even UAPs.
现在，你对它们的认知可能是外星人、不明飞行物、小绿人甚至是不明异象。
UAP stands for 'unidentified anomalous phenomena' and it’s the word scientists now use to describe mysterious things not from this world.
UAP代表“不明异常现象”，科学家们现在用这个词来描述不是来自这个世界的神秘事物。
So, Beth, how would you feel if you looked up and saw strange objects glowing and twisting through the sky?
贝丝，如果你抬头看到奇怪的物体在天空中发光扭曲，你会有什么感觉?
Wow. Well, I might stare for a bit.
哇。我可能会盯着看一会儿。
I don't know if I'd believe what I was seeing, and I guess I'd be a bit scared!
我不知道自己是否会相信看到的东西，我心里可能会有点害怕!
Well, that situation is exactly what Navy pilots caught on their fighter jet cameras on a training flight in 2004.
嗯，这种情况正是海军飞行员在2004年的一次训练飞行中用战斗机摄像头拍摄到的。
They recorded mysterious oval objects flying at 24,000 metres.
它们记录了在24000米高空飞行的神秘椭圆形物体。
The footage is known as the Tic Tac videos, and they have had millions of views on YouTube.
这段影片被称为“Tic Tac飞船”视频，在YouTube上有数百万的浏览量。
Now, these videos are being reviewed by US Congress to try understand what these objects were.
现在，美国国会正在审查这些视频，试图了解这些物体是什么。
Were they flying saucers, the disc-shaped craft flown by aliens, or is there a more rational explanation?
它们是飞碟（外星人驾驶的圆盘状飞行器），还是说有一个更合理的解释?
In this programme, we’ll be discussing whether we are alone in the universe, and, as usual, we’ll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
在本期节目中，我们将讨论人类在宇宙中是否是孤独的，并且像往常一样，我们也将学习一些有用的新词汇。
But first I have a question for you, Beth.
但首先我有个问题要问你，贝丝。
Thousands of UFO sightings are recorded every year, but, which country has had the highest number of reported sightings since records began, according to the National UFO Reporting Center?
每年都有成千上万的UFO目击事件被记录下来，但是，根据国家UFO报告中心的数据，自有记录以来，哪个国家报告的目击事件数量最多?
Is it: a) The USA? b) Canada? or c) China?
是a)美国? b)加拿大? 还是c)中国?
Hmm, I think it must be the USA.
嗯，我想一定是美国。
OK, Beth, I'll reveal the answer later in the programme.
好的，贝丝，稍后我会在节目中揭晓答案。
Now, while astronomers are scientists who study questions concerning things outside of Earth, they often avoid investigating supposed aliens.
好了，虽然天文学家是研究地球以外事物问题的科学家，但他们会经常避免调查所谓的外星人。
Adam Frank, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Rochester, explains why the footage in the Tic Tac videos can't give any definitive answers of alien life to BBC World Service programme, The Inquiry:
罗彻斯特大学天体物理学教授亚当·弗兰克在BBC世界服务节目《探究》中解释了为什么仅凭“Tic Tac飞船”视频中的镜头不能给出外星生命的明确答案:
I don't think the pilots are lying.
我不认为飞行员在说谎。
You know, I think the pilots are being honest and had a lot of integrity about what they say they're seeing.
我认为飞行员是诚实的，他们并没有对自己所看到的东西撒谎。
They're not saying they're aliens.
他们没说那些是外星人。
They're saying they behaved in ways that no jet could behave.
他们说的是这些东西的行为是任何喷气式飞机都做不到的。
But you know, again, personal testimony.
但是，再说一次，这是个人证词。
You can't do any science with that.
你不能用它来做任何科学研究。
So, what may happen now is we're gonna begin to get us some scientific study of this and we'll try and get a better handle on it.
所以，现在可能发生的是，我们将开始对这个问题进行一些科学研究，尝试更好地处理它。
Adam says the pilots have integrity, a noun meaning to have honesty and moral principles.
亚当说，飞行员有诚信，这是一个名词，意思是有诚实和道德原则。
However, what they saw is based on personal testimony.
然而，他们所看到的是基于个人的证词。
A personal testimony is a story or statement of evidence supported only by a person and what they saw, rather than any external evidence or hard facts.
个人证词是一个故事或陈述的证据，仅为一个人和他所看到的，而不是任何外部证据或确凿的事实。
To find out more about exactly what the pilots saw, scientific studies are being carried out to try and get a better handle on the situation.
为了更确切地了解飞行员看到了什么，科学研究正在不断开展，试图更好地处理这种情况。
If you get a handle on something, you understand it and are then able to deal with it.
如果你着手处理某事，意思就是你理解它后能够处理它。
Taking a more scientific approach to what the pilots saw, the Tic Tac videos were examined by a panel put together by NASA.
为了更科学地分析飞行员看到的内容，NASA组织了一个小组对Tic Tac飞船的视频进行了检查。
Here's Adam again discussing the findings on BBC World Service programme, The Inquiry:
下面是亚当在BBC全球服务节目《调查》中再次讨论的调查结果:
At the NASA panel, one of the scientists showed a simple analysis of the video that shows the object travelling at seemingly high speed over the ocean.
在NASA的小组会议上，一位科学家对视频进行了简单分析，该视频显示一个物体在海洋上以看似高速的速度飞行。
And what the NASA scientist showed was that with a simple analysis you can show that that was moving at 40 miles an hour, so certainly nothing very extra terrestrial about that.
NASA的科学家通过一个简单的分析就能证明它的移动速度是每小时40英里，所以肯定没有什么外星的东西。
The scientists found that, although it looks like the object was travelling very fast, it was only moving at 40 miles an hour, which Adam says it's not very extra terrestrial.
科学家们发现，尽管这个物体看起来移动得很快，但它的速度只有每小时40英里。亚当说，这并不是很像地外行星。
Extra-terrestrial means from outside, Earth, and is another word often used to describe aliens.
地球外的的意思是来自地球之外，是另一个经常用来描述外星人的词。
So, it seems that, for now, scientists will need to find much more proof to know exactly whether we are alone in the universe or not.
因此，目前看来，科学家们需要找到更多的证据来确切地知道我们是否在宇宙中是孤独的。
OK, Beth.
好吧，贝丝。
I think it’s time I revealed the answer to my question.
我想是时候揭晓我问题的答案了。
I asked you which country has had the highest number of reported sightings since records began, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.
我问你，根据国家不明飞行物报告中心，自有记录以来，哪个国家报告的目击事件最多。
And I guessed the USA…
我猜是美国…
Which was… the correct answer!
这是正确答案!
There have been over 100,000 reported sightings and encounters with UFOs in the USA since 1947.
自1947年以来，在美国有超过10万起目击和遭遇不明飞行物的报告。
OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this programme, starting with UAP, an acronym that stands for unidentified anomalous phenomena and is another word meaning alien or UFO.
好了，让我们回顾一下本期节目中学到的词汇，从UAP开始，UAP是“不明异常现象”的缩写，意思是外星人或不明飞行物。
A flying saucer is a disc-shaped craft supposedly flown by aliens.
飞碟是一种圆盘状的飞行器，据说是由外星人驾驶的。
Integrity means being honest in what you say and having moral principles.
正直意味着说话诚实，有道德原则。
A personal testimony is a story or statement of evidence supported by a person and what they saw, rather than external evidence or hard facts.
个人证词是一个人根据所看到东西，叙述的故事或陈述的证据，而不是外部证据或确凿的事实。
If you get a handle on something, you understand it and are able to deal with it.
如果你着手处理某事，意思是你理解并能够处理它。
And finally, extra-terrestrial means from outside Earth, and is another word often used to describe aliens.
最后，地外的意思是来自地球之外，是另一个经常用来描述外星人的词。
Once again our six minutes are up.
我们的六分钟又到了。
Join us again soon for more useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English!
欢迎再次收听我们的节目，学习更多有用的词汇。
Goodbye for now! Bye!
再见了! 拜拜!
