If the universe is full of intelligent, spacefaring aliens,
如果宇宙中充满了智慧的地外文明外星人
I think at least some of them might be interested in us.
那我觉得它们中至少有一些会对我们感兴趣
If only as a curiosity.
但愿只是好奇
Of course, many people believe they are already here.
当然,很多人相信它们已经来过地球
Tales of alien abduction have been common
外星人绑架的故事
ever since I was an undergraduate in the 1950s.
在五十年代我读大学时就已经非常常见了
And I watched all those "B" movies, too.
我也看了所有的这些"B"级电影
The story always goes the same
故事情节总是千篇一律
a lone individual on a quiet road at night
深夜,一个人独自行驶在安静的小路上
happens to take an unscheduled detour and finds himself lost.
恰巧不小心绕错了弯,迷了路
I'm always a bit suspicious when I hear these tales.
听到这种故事的时候我总是很怀疑
Look at it from the aliens' point of view.
我会从外星人的视角来审视这个故事
What's the point of crossing vast tracts of the universe in a high-tech ship
它们乘坐高科技飞船,跨越广袤的宇宙
just to abduct some lone earthling?
就只为了劫持几个地球人吗
In my opinion, if aliens are here,
我认为,若外星人到来
I suspect the newspapers would be full of the story.
理应伴有铺天盖地的新闻报道
And if governments are involved in their cover-up,
如果政府也参与了掩盖事实真相
they're doing a much better job at it than they seem to do at anything else.
这绝对是他们有史以来最成功的掩盖计划
So, the lack of alien contact raises a serious scientific problem.
缺少与外星人接触引发了一个严肃的科学问题
Where is everybody?
外星人究竟在哪里
We've been listening to space for over 40 years.
我们探测宇宙中的声音已长达四十年之久
And in all that time, we've picked up nothing.
但在这期间,我们一无所获
Well, except for one mysterious occasion.
除了仅有的一次神秘事件
On August 16, 1977,
1977年8月16日
a radio telescope in Ohio
美国俄亥俄州一台无线电望远镜
picked up a signal that became famous.
捕捉到一组日后闻名世界的信号
The telescope listened to space by
该望远镜随着地球的转动
scanning the skies as the earth rotated.
搜索外太空以探测来自宇宙的声音