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Encounter one: Ocean City, New Jersey, 1980.
遭遇一: 1980年,新澤西的歐欣城.
This was the summer when the special edition of
那是個夏天,正好趕上《第三類接觸》的
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was released.
特別版發布.
And I went on vacation with my parents to the Jersey shore.
我和父母一起去新澤西的濱海度假.
Within 12 hours, I was horribly sunburned,
我在12個小時內被嚴重的曬傷,
just like Richard Dreyfuss in the movie.
嚴重的就像電影里的Richard Dreyfuss.
And so I spent the rest of the vacation
所以我剩余的假期,
largely sitting outside our little rental house at night,
基本上只能在晚上坐在我們租來的小房子外面,
the sidewalk still warm from the sun,
享受人行道殘存的太陽余溫,
watching the skies for UFOs.
尋找著天空的不明飛行物.
What did I see? Stars, satellites,
我都是看到了什么?星星,人造衛星,
blinking airplanes -- typical sky junk.
閃礫的飛機 --典型的天空垃圾.
Occasionally, kids would come and
小朋友們偶爾會過來,
join me and watch,
加入我一起觀察,
but their necks soon got sore, and they would go off to the boardwalk
他們的脖子很快就酸了,所以他們離開人行道
to play video games and mingle with humans.
去玩游戲機或找別人玩.
I was pretty good at the video games. I was not very good at the other part,
我曾很擅長游戲機.但我不擅長別的,
so I stayed alone with the cosmos.
所以我還是一個人跟宇宙呆著吧.
And that's when it happened.
就是在這時發生的,
An elderly couple came walking down the street.
一對老夫婦在街上溜達.
I would say they were in their late seventies,
我覺得他們有七十多了,
and I would say that they were on a date,
還覺得他們在約會,
because he was wearing a very neat little suit
因為他穿著很整潔的套裝
with a yellow tie -- a brown suit.
棕色套裝里還打著黃領帶.
And she was wearing a cardigan, because it was now fully night
因為并不是深夜,女士穿了一件羊毛上衣,
and a chill was coming in off the ocean.
涼風從海面上吹過來.
I remember, for some reason,
我記得,出于某種原因,
that they were exactly the same height.
他們身高相同.
And then they stopped, and the man turned to me
然后他們停住了,這個男人轉向身
and said,
問我,
"What are you looking for,
"你在看什么呢?"
flying saucers?"
"飛碟?"
You have to admit, that's a pretty boss piece of detective work
你不得不承認,這個老男人在約會時
for an old man on a date.
非常像一名偵探.
But what was stranger still --
但還有很奇怪的是 --
and even I realized it at the time,
我意識到了在那個時間,
as a nine-year-old child --
作為一個九歲的小孩 --
was that they stopped at all.
他們停下來
That this old man would interrupt his moonlight stroll
這個老男人在跟他女朋友在月光下停下來
with his sweetheart with the precise reason
用一個準確的問題
of making fun of a child.
去跟一個小孩看玩笑.
"Oh," he said,
"哦." 他說,
"little green men."
"小紳士."
And then his girlfriend joined in, too.
這時,他女朋友也加入進來.
"There's no such thing as space men," she said.
"外星人根本不存在," 她說.
"There's no such thing."
"沒那種東西."
And then they both laughed. "Ha, ha, ha."
然后他們同時哈哈一笑.
I looked around.
我環顧四周.
The street was entirely empty.
街道已經全空了.
I had stopped hearing the sound of the ocean.
我聽不到大海的聲音.
It was as though time had stopped.
仿佛時間停止了.
I did not know why they were teasing me.
我不知道他們為什么逗我.
I looked into their strangely angry faces,
我觀察他們陌生的臉孔,
and I remember wondering,
并且我感覺很奇怪
are they wearing rubber masks?
他們是不是帶的橡膠面具?
And what would be behind those rubber masks, if they were?
躲在面具后面的是什么?
Giant, almond-shaped, unblinking eyes?
他們是不是有一雙巨大的,一眨不眨的杏仁一樣的雙眼?
Slits for mouths?
裂縫一樣的嘴巴?
The old man crooked his finger as though he were firing a gun,
這個做了一個開槍的手勢,
and then he made laser sounds.
并且他發出激光槍的聲音,
"Kew, kew, kew --
咻,咻,咻--
watch out."
"小心!"
And they turned at once and walked away.
然后他們轉身接著散步.
The old man reached out
那個老男人伸出
his knobbly claw
他年邁粗糙的手
for the woman's hand,
拉住女人的手,
and found it, and left me alone.
然后留下我一個人.
Now, you could describe this as a simple misunderstanding --
現在,你可以把這個當成一次簡單的誤會 --
a strange encounter among humans.
一個人類之間的奇怪的邂逅.
Maybe it was swamp gas, but --
也許它只是浮云,但是 --
I know what I saw.
我知道我看到了什么.
