中英對照讀新聞》Kentucky city beams message into space inviting extraterrestrial visitors 邀請外星訪客 肯塔基州城市向太空發射訊息

◎陳成良

A Kentucky city has come up with an out-of-this-world campaign to promote tourism.

肯塔基州一個城市發起一項非凡脫俗的活動來促進旅遊業。

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The Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau used an infrared laser to beam a message into space to invite extraterrestrial travelers.

列星頓風俗暨旅遊局使用紅外線雷射向太空發射訊息，邀請外星旅行者。

“The first thing you’ll notice as you descend through Earth’s atmosphere above Central Kentucky is the lush green countryside that surrounds Lexington’s vibrant city center. That’s our famous bluegrass,” the message begins. It goes on to describe gentle rolling hills, horse farms and bourbon before suggesting places to stay and eat and shop.

訊息開頭寫道，「當你在肯塔基州中部上空穿過地球大氣層時，你會注意到的第一件事，是列星頓充滿活力的市中心周圍鬱鬱蔥蔥的綠色鄉村。這就是我們著名的藍草（草地早熟禾）」。它接著描述平緩起伏的山丘、馬場和波旁威士忌酒，然後建議住宿、吃飯和購物的地方。

The idea for the campaign came from recent UFO revelations and advances in deep space imaging that have fueled the belief that we are not alone in the universe, the visitors bureau said in a statement this month announcing the move.

旅遊局在本月宣布這項舉措的聲明中表示，這項活動的想法來自於最近「不明飛行物」（UFO）曝光和深空成像技術的進步，這些進步讓人們相信我們在宇宙中並不孤單。

新聞辭典

extraterrestrial：形容詞，地球之外的、外星球的。例句：A concentrated search for extraterrestrial life.（全力搜尋外星生命。）

out of this world：俚語，極好的、非凡脫俗的。例句：The movie was out of this world.（這部電影極好看。）