2007年VOA标准英语-Roswell, New Mexico Marks 60th Anniversary of S

By Greg Flakus
Roswell, New Mexico
04 July 2007

Sixty years ago this July 4, something happened in the desert about 100 kilometers northwest of Roswell, New Mexico. A local newspaper at the time reported that a flying saucer had crashed and that the wreckage¹ had been taken to the U.S. Army Air base just outside of Roswell. The military said it had been a weather balloon that crashed. VOA's Greg Flakus has more from Roswell.

UFO Museum

There are some scenic² places in New Mexico for tourists to visit. But they are all about a two-hour drive from Roswell. Very few tourists came here before the aliens arrived.

Roswell's big attraction is the UFO Museum and Research Center. Sandy James is deputy director.

"Basically, a long time ago, if you came to Roswell, you were lost. Now, if you come to Roswell, you are coming to see the museum," he explains.

People from around the world flock here to see exhibits about the July 1947 incident and other UFO stories. They also buy lots of souvenirs, according to James.

"Top items that people buy would be tee-shirts, first. Coffee mugs are second, then shot glasses and key chains," James says.

A woman from India spent nearly an hour with her family looking at the exhibits and came away convinced.

"I see all the pictures and all the signs and I heard before some stories about the aliens," she says.

 

Roswell, a town of some 50,000 people, will double in size during the 60th anniversary UFO Festival July 5 through 8.

Guy Malone is organizing the festival and a concurrent³ conference of UFO investigators⁴. He says the city government realizes the importance of the whole UFO story to the local economy.

"It seems 11 or 12 percent of the employment base in Roswell is now tourism and hospitality-oriented such as hotels, restaurants, museums, things like that," Malone says. "A decade ago that figure was zero-point-something percent."

Kenneth Arnold and a drawing of one of the UFOs he reportedly saw in 1947.

Malone says Roswell's residents are divided between those who think the famous 1947 alien incident is a bunch of nonsense that can be exploited for tourist dollars and those who really do think something happened and that the government covered it up. One of the local residents who rejects the government's official explanation is Dennis Balthaser.

"The United States government has had a lot of practice keeping secrets," he says. "Good examples are the atomic bomb project, which was carried out right here at Los Alamos, north of Roswell. Fifty-thousand people were involved with that project for about 10 years and it was kept secret."

Balthaser thinks it may have been the first test of an atomic bomb, here in New Mexico in 1945 and the atomic bombs kept at the Roswell army base that drew the attention of visitors from another world.

He is aware that many people, here and elsewhere, view belief in UFOs as irrational⁵, but he thinks this would change if the U.S. government followed other governments in revealing what it knows.

"Within the past six months, the government of France and the government of England (Great Britain) have both announced that they are going to open up their UFO files," notes Balthaser. "The United States has made no attempt to do that."

Alien doll in store window

It is not likely that any dramatic new evidence will emerge at the upcoming UFO conference here to change anyone's mind one way or the other on the Roswell incident. But local businesses are benefiting from the increased tourism and there are plans now for a much larger museum. Guy Malone believes the town will be able to profit from its association with the alleged⁶ alien visit for some time to come.

"I think the mystery will always endure," he says. "The mystery will always be there. Nobody is ever going to have conclusive⁷ proof of what it was or wasn't."

In fact, the mystery over what happened out in the New Mexico desert 60 years ago will probably never go away, unless, of course, the aliens were to return to clear things up.

1 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

2 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

3 concurrent   

adj.同时发生的，一致的

参考例句：

• You can't attend two concurrent events!你不能同时参加两项活动！
• The twins had concurrent birthday. 双胞胎生日在同一天。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。