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五角大楼公开了162份UFO档案:里面有"球生球",还有月球上的奇怪光
Pentagon Releases 162 UFO Files — Orbs Spawning Orbs and Strange Apollo 17 Lights on the Moon
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Pentagon releases 162 UFO files on war.gov — orbs spawning orbs, strange Apollo 17 lights on the moon, and what's inside. HSK 3 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 8 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 档案、公开、透明 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.
English transcript reference
Today we're talking about something everyone is discussing lately.
On May 8, the US government released a batch of UFO files.
When you hear "UFO," you probably think of movies.
But this time it's real — released by the US government itself.
There are 162 files, including photos, videos, and reports.
All on a website that anyone can see.
Today we'll talk about what's inside, why it matters, and what it tells us.
First, some background.
"UFO" is English for Unidentified Flying Object — in Chinese it's usually called 不明飞行物.
That is: there's something in the sky, you saw it, but you don't know what it is.
Not a plane, not a bird, not a cloud — none of those.
This kind of thing has been seen for a very long time.
And the people who saw them aren't just ordinary citizens.
There are also police, military, pilots, even astronauts.
It sounds unreliable, but this batch of files is from these "professionals."
That's why people especially want to look.
This time the US government made a new website at war.gov/ufo.
They said: we want "maximum transparency" and to show the files to everyone.
What is "transparency"?
Transparency means clear, no secrets.
This time, they released 162 files at once, and more will come.
Like peeling an onion, opening one layer at a time.
What interesting stories are inside?
We'll cover three.
The first story is called "orbs spawning orbs," from 2023.
In several western US states, seven federal officers — all government workers — saw something in the sky.
They saw orbs — not one, several.
Orange orbs.
But strangely, these orbs would "spawn" smaller orbs.
How do they spawn?
A big orange orb suddenly became a big one plus several small red ones.
The small ones flew out of the big one, like a hen laying eggs — but in the sky.
They also saw a big glowing orb hovering in place, motionless.
And something like a "kite" that was "translucent."
What does "translucent" mean?
It means you can see through it but still see its shape.
All seven officers saw it, drew it, and 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: this story is among the most interesting they currently have.
Why?
Because there were many witnesses, because these people don't make things up, because what they saw really doesn't look like ordinary things.
The second story is from 2025.
A military jet and a helicopter were flying together.
They were using a special camera called "thermal imaging" — a camera that sees how hot things are; it works in the dark too.
With this camera, they saw an orb — a "super hot" one.
Then something strange happened: the orb suddenly accelerated and flew very fast.
Then with a "crack," it split into two, and then into four or five.
All oval-shaped, all orange, with white-yellow centers.
The pilots were stunned, and they said: "I've never seen anything like this."
The third story is the most surprising.
You know that over fifty years ago the US sent people to the moon, right?
Back then it was called "the Apollo program" — not the cartoon, the real one.
People rode rockets for three days to the moon, then walked on it.
They brought back moon rocks, which are still in museums today.
But this batch of files tells us: at that time, when the astronauts looked at the sky, they also saw lots of strange lights.
For example, the Apollo 17 crew said: "Wow, there are a lot of bright things outside my window."
They also said: "Once our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we started seeing lots of flashes."
They said those lights didn't look like illusions — there really was "something" there.
Hearing that, I felt a little chill too.
Imagine a person on the moon, seeing things they can't identify.
That image is more interesting than any movie.
So are these things aliens?
I think this is what everyone most wants to ask.
But the government's answer is very clear: they say "we don't know."
Really, they don't know.
They say: "We have no evidence they're aliens, and no evidence they aren't."
"We've checked many times, but we can't figure it out."
So these files are called "unresolved cases" — not solved.
Meaning: we saw it, we recorded it, but we can't say what it is.
So is there any new finding this time?
Actually no.
They've simply released what wasn't public before.
The answer is the same as before: "we don't know either."
That sounds like there's no answer.
But think about it — that itself is also an answer: "this world is more complicated than we thought."
So how should ordinary people view this?
I have a few suggestions.
First, don't be too afraid.
Even if these things really exist, they've been seen for many years already.
We've been living our lives, life keeps going.
So no need to be tense.
Second, don't trust UFO videos online too much.
There are many fake UFO videos online — some are made on a computer, some are drones, some are clouds.
What the government released this time was seen by real "professionals" — different from what's online.
Third, you can stay curious.
"Curious" means wanting to know, wanting to ask.
We live in a very interesting time — computers are smarter, rockets are stronger.
But there are still things we don't know.
That kind of "not knowing" actually makes life more interesting.
Finally, let's think — what does this tell us?
I think there are three things.
First, the world is big, the sky is big, and there are still many things we don't know.
Second, the government is finally willing to be open.
This is progress — it used to depend on news leaks; now the government tells us itself.
Transparency is a good thing.
Third, "not knowing" is also a form of knowledge.
Truly smart people don't know everything; they know what they know and what they don't.
The Pentagon's answer this time is exactly that kind of attitude.
So next time you look up at the sky, if you see a strange bright thing, don't panic, don't be afraid, and don't immediately say "it's aliens."
You can think: maybe that thing will appear on the government's website tomorrow.
Maybe we'll wait decades.
But one thing is certain — you're not the only one watching.
People all over the world are also looking up at the sky with you.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 6. 档 (file) + 案 (case). The 162 official UFO files released.
HSK 5. 公开档案 = release files publicly. Verb and adjective.
HSK 5. Glossed inline as '清楚,没有秘密'. The political slogan of this release.
HSK 4. 这些人不会乱说 — they're 认真.
HSK 5. 没有证据 = no evidence. Central to Pentagon's framing.
HSK 6. The Apollo crews who reported strange lights.
HSK 5. 保持好奇 = stay curious. The episode's recommended attitude.
HSK 4. 这是一个进步 = this is progress.
HSK 4. 这种态度 = this attitude. Used in the episode's editorial close.
HSK 3. 真正聪明的人 = truly smart people. Used in the closing reflection.
Specialist coinage for this episode. 球 (orb) + 生 (give birth/produce) + 球 (orb). Direct translation of the Pentagon's '浪举集体事件'.
HSK 5. 橘 (tangerine) + 色 (color). The signature color of the orbs.
HSK 6+. 悬 (suspended) + 停 (stop). The big stationary orb seen by the officers.
HSK 6. 半 (half) + 透明 (transparent). Glossed inline.
Specialist. 热 (heat) + 成像 (imaging). The technology used in the 2025 case.
Specialist. 椭 (oblong) + 圆 (round) + 形 (shape). The shape of the orbs.
Beyond. The big question of UFO discourse.
Specialist. 未解 (unresolved) + 案例 (case). The Pentagon's official label for these files.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法'That is to say.' Used to restate or clarify in expository register.
也就是说:一个橘色的大球,忽然变成大球加几个红色的小球。
也就是说,一半是真的政策,一半是政治表演。
'X decides / finally does Y.' Modal of resolve / long-awaited action.
政府终于愿意公开了。
美国政府决定:"我们把这些东西,给大家看吧。"
Hedge frame: 'sounds like X, but actually Y.' Sets up a reveal.
听起来不太靠谱,但是这次的档案,都是来自这些"专业人"。
听起来有点像没有答案。但是想想看,这其实也是一种答案。
X 把 + Object + Verb + Result
Disposal construction.
美国政府决定:"我们把这些东西,给大家看吧。"
他们是把以前不公开的东西公开了。
'Not only X, also Y.' Adds parallel points.
看到的人,不只是普通老百姓。也有警察,有军人,有飞行员,甚至有宇航员。
我们的电脑越来越聪明,火箭越来越强,但是有些东西,我们还是不知道。
Proper Nouns
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