【在生活中學習語言】《中英對照讀新聞》U.S. pilot was ordered to shoot down UFO美國飛行員曾奉命擊落幽浮
◎ 管淑平

Two U.S. fighter planes were scrambled and ordered to shoot down an unidentified flying object （UFO） over the English countryside during the Cold War, according to secret files made public on 20th. Oct.

冷戰期間曾有兩名美國戰鬥機飛行員緊急升空，奉命擊落在英國鄉村地區上空的不明飛行物（幽浮），根據10月20日公開的機密檔案指出。

One pilot said he was seconds away from firing rockets at the object, which moved erratically and gave a radar reading like "a flying aircraft carrier."

其中一名飛行員說，他就差幾秒就發射火箭擊中目標，該物體行動飄忽，在雷達上看起來像「飛行的航空母艦」。

The pilot, 77-year-old Milton Torres, said it spent periods motionless in the sky before reaching estimated speeds of more than 7,600 mph.

這名現年77歲的飛行員托雷斯說，不明飛行物在空中靜止了一段時間，然後以大約逾時速7600英里的速度飛行。

At the last moment, the object disappeared from the radar screen and the high-speed chase was called off.

最後，不明飛行物從雷達螢幕上消失，這場高速追逐也結束了。

After the alert, a shadowy figure told Torres he must never talk about the incident and he duly kept silent for more than 30 years.

經過這次警戒後，有個神祕人物告訴托雷斯絕對不能說出這件事，他也的確保守秘密30多年。

His story was among dozens of UFO sightings in defense ministry files released at the National Archives in London. The documents contain no official explanation for the incident.

他的故事是位於倫敦的國家檔案館公布的國防部所記載數十起幽浮目睹案例之一。這批文件並未有官方對這次事件的解釋。

新聞辭典

scramble：動詞，（戰鬥機）緊急升空（攔截、攻擊），爭先恐後做某件事。例句：They scramble for the bathroom every morning.（他們每天早上都要搶浴室用。）

Unidentified Flying Object：名詞（縮寫：UFO），（通常指為疑似來自外星球的）不明飛行物、幽浮。例句：The unexplained close encounter with a UFO is always mysterious.（令人無法解釋的與幽浮近距離接觸事件總是很神祕。）

duly：形容詞，的確的，適切的。例句：Make sure the travel documents you need are all duly signed before you hit the road. （出發前確認你需要的旅行文件都簽名妥當了。）

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