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Pentagon Releases 162 UFO Files — episode cover art
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美国政府终于打开了UFO档案:里面有什么?

Pentagon Releases 162 UFO Files

About this story

The US government opens 162 UFO files on war.gov — photos, videos, and strange Apollo 17 lights on the moon. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.

This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 18 key vocabulary words such as 政府、网站、文件 and walks through 7 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.

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原文

Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.

最近,美国发生了一件很有意思的事。
昨天,五月八号,美国政府打开了一个大盒子。
这个"盒子",是一个网站。
网站上有很多文件,一共有一百六十二份。
里面有照片,有视频,也有文字。
都是关于一个东西。
这个东西叫"UFO"。
U-F-O 是英文,中文一般翻译成"不明飞行物"。
意思是:飞在天上,但是大家不知道是什么。
为什么不知道?
不是飞机,不是鸟,不是别的我们认识的东西。
就是一个"不知道是什么"的东西。
这种东西,其实从很久以前就一直有人看到。
有的人在自己家的院子里看到。
有的人开车的时候看到。
有的人坐飞机的时候看到。
警察也看到。
军人也看到。
甚至,去过月亮的人,也看到了。
所以美国政府决定:"我们把这些东西,给大家看吧。
他们做了一个网站,叫 war.gov/ufo。
谁都可以去看,不收钱。
昨天是第一批,还会有更多。
我先给你说几件最有意思的。
第一件事,发生在2023年。
地点在美国西边的几个州。
有七个警察。
他们都是政府里的警察。
他们工作很认真。
不是骗人的人。
那两天,他们一起看到了一个东西。
天上有几个橘色的球。
那些球会"生"小球。
也就是说:一个大的橘色球,忽然变成了一个大的,加几个小的。
小的是红色的。
还有一个大球,挂在天上不动。
还有一个像"风筝"一样的东西。
什么是风筝?
风筝是一种玩具,小孩子用线放在天上。
但是这个"风筝",没有人放,它自己在那里。
七个警察都看到了,他们都画了,也都写了报告。
报告说:"我们看到的东西,看起来不是普通的东西,我们看不出来是什么。
美国政府的UFO办公室说:这个故事,在他们手里所有的故事里,是最有意思的之一。
为什么?
因为看到的人很多,因为看到的人都很认真。
因为他们看到的东西,确实不像我们认识的东西。
第二件事,是2025年的事。
也是在美国。
有一架飞机和一架直升机。
他们一起飞。
他们用一种特别的相机。
这种相机,可以看见热的东西。
他们看到了一个非常热的球。
那个球,跑得非常快。
然后,"砰",变成了两个。
然后,又变成了四五个。
都是橘色的,中间是白色或者黄色的。
飞行员也都吓了一跳,他们也都不知道是什么。
第三件事,是最有名的。
五十多年前,美国送人去月亮。
那是一件非常大的事情。
当时全世界都在看。
人们坐火箭,飞到月亮。
他们走在月亮上。
他们也看天空。
你知道吗?
他们也看到了一些奇怪的东西。
这一次的档案里,就有他们当时说的话。
比如,"阿波罗17号"上面的人说:"哇,我窗户外面有好多亮的东西。
他们还说:"我们眼睛适应了黑的时候,看到了很多闪光,有的还会转。
他们说:"我觉得这些不是眼睛看错的,是真的有东西。
听起来很神奇。
现在你可能会问:那这些是不是外星人?
我可以告诉你美国政府的答复,答复很有意思。
他们说:"我们也不知道。
他们说:"我们看了,我们查了,我们用了很多时间。
"但是,我们还是不知道这些是什么。
"我们也没有证据。
没有证据说是外星人,也没有证据说不是。
所以这些东西,现在叫"未解之谜"。
未解,就是没有解开。
我们还在等答案。
为什么这一次特别?
因为这次的档案,是政府自己放出来的。
不是民间偷偷传的,不是网上的假图,是真的政府文件。
是从飞行员、警察、军人、宇航员那里来的。
非常重要。
但是,记住:就算政府放出来,也不代表答案出来了。
就像这次,答案是:"我们也不知道。
听起来有点失望,对吧?
但是其实也很真实。
我们这个世界很大,天空也很大,还有很多事情我们不知道。
这一次的档案,也告诉我们一件事:原来,就连最厉害的国家,也有很多"不知道"。
那我们普通人怎么办?
我觉得:不用害怕,也不用太兴奋。
有兴趣的,可以去看看。
没兴趣的,可以听别的故事。
但是有一件事是真的——我们的天上,有很多我们还不认识的东西。
也许有一天,我们会知道。
那一天到了,我们再说。
今天,我们就先看着。
也许,那一天的故事,比我们想的还要有意思。
English transcript reference

Recently, something very interesting happened in the US.

Yesterday, May 8, the US government opened a big box.

This "box" is a website.

The website has many files — 162 in total.

Inside there are photos, videos, and text.

All about one thing.

This thing is called "UFO."

U-F-O is English, usually translated in Chinese as "unidentified flying object."

It means: flying in the sky, but no one knows what it is.

Why don't they know?

Not a plane, not a bird, not anything else we recognize.

Just a "we don't know what it is" thing.

This kind of thing has actually been seen for a very long time.

Some people see it in their own backyard.

Some people see it while driving.

Some people see it while flying on a plane.

Police see it.

Soldiers see it.

Even people who've been to the moon have seen it.

So the US government decided: "Let's show these things to everyone."

They made a website called war.gov/ufo.

Anyone can go see it, free.

Yesterday was the first batch — more is coming.

Let me tell you a few of the most interesting cases first.

The first one happened in 2023.

The location was in several western US states.

There were seven police officers.

They were all federal officers.

They take their work seriously.

They're not the kind of people who lie.

Over those two days, they all saw something.

There were several orange orbs in the sky.

And those orbs would "give birth" to smaller orbs.

That is to say: one big orange orb suddenly became one big orb plus several small ones.

The small ones were red.

There was also a big orb that hung in the sky and didn't move.

And something like a "kite."

What's a kite?

A kite is a kind of toy — children fly it in the sky on a string.

But this "kite" had no one flying it; it was up there by itself.

All seven officers saw it; they all drew it and all wrote reports.

The reports said: "What we saw doesn't look like an ordinary thing — we can't tell what it is."

The US government's UFO office said: among all the stories they hold, this one is one of the most interesting.

Why?

Because there were many witnesses, and because they take their work seriously.

Because what they saw really doesn't look like anything we recognize.

The second case is from 2025.

Also in the US.

There was a plane and a helicopter.

They were flying together.

They were using a special kind of camera.

This camera can see heat.

They saw an extremely hot orb.

That orb was moving very fast.

Then, "boom," it split into two.

Then it split into four or five.

All orange, with white or yellow centers.

The pilots were all stunned, and none of them knew what it was.

The third case is the most famous.

Over fifty years ago, the US sent people to the moon.

That was a very big event.

The whole world was watching.

People rode rockets, flying to the moon.

They walked on the moon.

And they looked at the sky too.

Did you know?

They also saw some strange things.

This batch of files includes what they said at the time.

For instance, the crew of "Apollo 17" said: "Wow, there are a whole bunch of bright ones outside my window."

They also said: "Once our eyes adjusted to the dark, we saw lots of flashes — some even rotating."

They said: "I think these aren't optical errors — there's really something there."

Sounds incredible.

Now you might ask: are these aliens?

Let me tell you the US government's reply — it's interesting.

They said: "We don't know either."

They said: "We looked, we investigated, we spent a lot of time."

"But we still don't know what these are."

"And we have no evidence."

No evidence that they're aliens, and no evidence that they aren't.

So these things are now called "unsolved mysteries."

Unsolved, meaning not yet solved.

We're still waiting for answers.

Why is this time special?

Because this batch is being released by the government itself.

Not folklore, not fake images online — real government documents.

From pilots, police, military, and astronauts.

Very important.

But remember: even if the government releases them, that doesn't mean the answers are out.

As with this time, the answer is: "We don't know either."

Sounds a little disappointing, right?

But actually it's also very honest.

Our world is big, the sky is big, and there are still lots of things we don't know.

This batch also tells us one thing: even the most powerful country has plenty of "I don't know."

So what should ordinary people do?

I think: don't be too scared, and don't get too excited.

If you're interested, you can take a look.

If you're not interested, listen to a different story.

But one thing is true — there are many things in our sky we still don't recognize.

Maybe one day we'll know.

When that day comes, we'll talk about it.

For today, we just watch.

Maybe the story of that day will be even more interesting than we imagine.

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
zhèngfǔgovernment

HSK 4. 美国政府 = the US government. The actor that released the files.

wǎngzhànwebsite

HSK 4. 网 (web) + 站 (station). war.gov/ufo is the new 网站.

wénjiàndocument; file

HSK 4. 162 份文件 = 162 files (measure word 份).

zhàopiànphotograph

HSK 3. 拍照片 = take a photo.

shìpínvideo

HSK 5. 视 (visual) + 频 (frequency). 视频 has displaced 录像 in modern usage.

fānyìto translate; translation

HSK 4. 翻 (turn) + 译 (interpret). UFO 翻译成中文 = UFO is translated as ...

rènzhēnserious; conscientious

HSK 4. 工作很认真 = takes their work seriously. The episode emphasizes the witnesses are 认真.

bàogàoreport

HSK 4. 写报告 = write a report. Both verb and noun.

rènshito recognize; to know (a thing)

HSK 1. 我们认识的东西 = things we recognize. Used to say 'familiar to us'.

dáfùto reply; reply

HSK 5. 美国政府的答复 = the US government's reply. Formal alternative to 回答.

UFOUFO (unidentified flying object)

Beyond. English acronym, glossed inline.

bùmíng fēixíngwùunidentified flying object (the literal Chinese for UFO)

Specialist (4-character compound). 不明 (unknown) + 飞行 (flying) + 物 (object).

yǔhángyuánastronaut

HSK 6. 宇 (universe) + 航 (navigate) + 员 (member). Featured in the Apollo angle.

wèijiě zhī míunsolved mystery

Idiom-like. 未 (not) + 解 (solve) + 之 + 谜 (riddle). The Pentagon's official label for these cases.

zhèngjùevidence

HSK 5. 没有证据 = no evidence. Central to the 'we don't know' framing.

rè chéngxiàngthermal imaging

Specialist. 热 (heat) + 成像 (imaging). The technology that recorded the 'super hot orb'.

zhíshēngjīhelicopter

HSK 6. 直 (straight) + 升 (rise) + 机 (machine). Featured in the 2025 case.

wàixīngrénalien; extraterrestrial

Beyond. 外 (outside) + 星 (star) + 人 (person). The big question.

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法
X 也就是说 / 也就是 Y↗

'That is to say.' Used to restate or clarify in expository register.

也就是说:一个大的橘色球,忽然变成了一个大的,加几个小的。

也就是说:飞在天上,但是大家不知道是什么。

X 不是 ... 不是 ... 不是 ...↗

'Not A, not B, not C.' Used to rule out options before introducing the unknown.

不是飞机,不是鸟,不是别的我们认识的东西。

不是民间偷偷传的,不是网上的假图,是真的政府文件。

X 在 ... 的时候 + Verb↗

'While X is doing Y' — sets up a time clause.

有的人开车的时候看到。

有的人坐飞机的时候看到。

X 决定 + Verb↗

'X decides to V.' Common modal of resolve.

美国政府决定:"我们把这些东西,给大家看吧。"

我们还在等答案。

X 就算 ...,也 ...↗

Concessive: 'even if X, still Y.' Stronger than 虽然.

就算政府放出来,也不代表答案出来了。

X 听起来 ...↗

'Sounds like X.' Hedging frame for opinion.

听起来很神奇。

听起来有点失望,对吧?

原来 + clause↗

'It turns out that ...' — used for surprising realizations.

原来,就连最厉害的国家,也有很多"不知道"。

Proper nouns

专有名词
美国Měiguóthe United StatesUFOUFOUFO (unidentified flying object)war.govwar.govwar.gov (the US Department of War's official domain)阿波罗ĀbōluóApollo (the US lunar program)阿波罗17号Ābōluó ShíqīhàoApollo 17 (the final crewed Apollo lunar mission, 1972)日本RìběnJapanFBIFBIFBI (the US Federal Bureau of Investigation)

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