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US Government Opens the UFO Files on war.gov — Photos, Videos, and Apollo 17 Moon Lights — episode cover art
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UFO

US Government Opens the UFO Files on war.gov — Photos, Videos, and Apollo 17 Moon Lights

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.

最近美国发生一件有意思
昨天五月美国政府打开一个盒子
这个"盒子"一个网站
网站上有很多文件共有一百六十二份
里面照片视频也有文字
都是关于一个东西
这个东西"UFO"
U-F-O 英文中文一般翻译"不明飞行"
意思天上但是大家不知道什么
为什么不知道
不是飞机不是不是别的我们认识东西
就是一个"不知道什么"东西
这种东西其实很久以前一直有人看到
自己院子看到
开车时候看到
飞机时候看到
警察看到
军人看到
甚至月亮看到
所以美国政府决定"我们这些东西大家
他们做了一个网站 war.gov/ufo
都可以
昨天一批更多
我先有意思
一件事发生2023
地点美国西边几个
七个警察
他们都是政府警察
他们工作认真
不是骗人
他们一起看到一个东西
天上几个橘色
那些""
也就是说一个橘色忽然变成一个几个
的是红色
还有一个天上不动
还有一个"风筝"一样东西
什么风筝
风筝一种玩具小孩子线放在天上
但是这个"风筝"没有自己那里
七个警察看到他们报告
报告"我们看到东西看起来不是普通东西我们看不出什么
美国政府UFO办公这个故事他们手里所有故事有意思之一
为什么
因为看到很多因为看到都很认真
因为他们看到东西确实不像我们认识东西
第二2025
也是美国
一架飞机一架直升机
他们一起
他们一种特别相机
这种相机可以看见东西
他们看到一个非常
那个跑得非常
然后""变成
然后变成
都是橘色中间白色或者黄色
飞行吓了一跳他们不知道什么
第三有名
五十年前美国人去月亮
那是一件非常事情
当时全世界都在
人们火箭飞到月亮
他们走在月亮
他们天空
知道
他们看到一些奇怪东西
一次档案就有他们当时的话
比如"阿波罗17"上面"窗户外面好多东西
他们还说"我们眼睛适应时候看到很多闪光
他们"觉得这些不是眼睛看错真的东西
听起来神奇
现在可能会问这些是不是外星人
可以告诉美国政府答复答复有意思
他们"我们不知道
他们"我们看了我们我们很多时间
"但是我们还是不知道这些什么
"我们也没有证据
没有证据外星人也没有证据不是
所以这些东西现在""
就是没有解开
我们答案
为什么一次特别
因为这次档案政府自己出来
不是民间偷偷不是网上真的政府文件
飞行警察军人宇航那里
非常重要
但是记住就算政府出来也不代表答案出来
就像这次答案"我们不知道
听起来有点失望
但是其实真实
我们这个世界很大天空很大还有很多事情我们不知道
一次档案告诉我们一件事原来最厉害国家也有很多"不知道"
我们普通怎么
觉得不用害怕也不兴奋
兴趣可以看看
兴趣可以别的故事
但是一件事真的我们天上很多我们认识东西
也许一天我们知道
一天到了我们再说
今天我们先看
也许一天故事我们有意思
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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