Events involving thousands of Earthlings answering an internet buzz about an invitation to “Storm Area 51” in the Nevada desert have been mostly festive. After a weekend of camping and partying, the Earthlings from around the globe headed home in peace.
数千名“地球人”响应网络的号召，来到内华达州的沙漠地带参与“勇闯51区”的活动。历经一个周末的野营和派对后，参与者们平静地启程离开，在欢乐中宣告活动的收尾。
Visitors hailed from France, Russia, Germany, Peru, Sweden, Australia and many U.S. states — in answer to the Internet post “Storm Area 51” in June suggesting that if enough people rushed a military base to "see them aliens" at 3 a.m. Sept. 20, authorities couldn't stop everyone. More than 2 million netizens clicked their interest, but in the end only a few thousand made the trip to the tiny Nevada desert city of Rachel, population about 50, a more than two-hour drive north of Las Vegas.
专门为此次“行动”而来的游客来自世界各地，包括法国、俄罗斯、德国、秘鲁、瑞典、澳大利亚等等，当然还有美国多个州的爱好者——他们均是为了响应今年6月网上发起的“勇闯51区”的活动倡议，相约在9月20日凌晨3点在此处相约“外星人”；大家想当然地以为只要有够多的爱好者冲进该军事基地参与活动，军方便不会阻止。虽然超过200万的网民点击了“感兴趣”，但最终到场的只有数千人。据悉，要来到“据点”，参与者需要从拉斯维加斯驾车两个多小时，来到人口仅有50的雷切尔小镇。
Did anyone find actual extraterrestrials or UFOs? Well, if you exclude the masked and costumed beings posing for photos and cavorting in the desert, then the answer is no. However, the participants felt a great sense of community. It started as a joke and turned out to be a joyous gathering to know each other.
那么究竟有没有人看到“天外来客”或者“UFO”呢？要是你排除了现场那些游来荡去、精心打扮成外星人的爱好者，那么这个答案很显然是否定的。但是，对于参与者来说，这项活动本身就是一场外星人爱好者们欢聚的盛会。倡议提出之时便不是正儿八经的“勇闯”，而是参与者们彼此认识，沟通了解的绝佳机会。
What on Earth is "Area 51"?
那么，究竟什么是“51区”？
For decades, Nevada's Area 51 Air Force facility has represented the eye of a conspiratorial hurricane that swirls around "evidence" that aliens exist and are hiding behind its walls. Books, TV shows, and films have tried to glimpse beyond its stark signs warning against trespassers.
几十年来，内华达州的这座“51区”空军基地一直是被认为是研究“外星人”的秘密基地。大量的书籍、电视节目、电影等纷纷将关注的焦点投向它，试图透过其高高的围墙一探内部的究竟。
What exactly goes on inside of Area 51 has led to decades of wild speculation. There are, of course, the alien conspiracies that galactic visitors are tucked away somewhere inside. There are plenty of rumors. Some even believe that the U.S. government filmed the 1969 moon landing in one of the base's hangars.
“51区”内部究竟酝酿着什么，一直以来都引发着各种猜想。最引人注意的莫过于“外星人”一说，认为基地里藏有天外来客。谣言种种，难以求证。有些人甚至认为1969年美国登月实际上是在该区内部的某个摄影棚内拍摄完成的。
For all the myths and legends, what's true is that Area 51 is real and still very active. There may not be aliens or a moon landing movie set inside those fences, but something is going on and only a select few are privy to what's happening further down that closely-monitored wind-swept Nevada road.
在有关“51区”重重的神话和传闻之下，能够确定的是，它是真实存在的，且仍在活跃运行。在隔离区内或许没有外星人或者“假登月”的摄影棚，但是在这所荒凉地带的隔离区里，只有极少一部分人有权限能够进入，从事鲜为人知的工作。
While the lore around Area 51 may be nothing more than imaginative fiction, that won't stop people from gawking just beyond those chain link fences. As aerospace historian Peter Merlin puts it, “at the most basic level, anytime you have something secret or forbidden, it's human nature, and you want to find out what it is.”
尽管有关“51区”的传闻如幻想小说般不大可信，但依然阻止不了人们好奇的目光。就如航天历史学家彼得·梅林所说，“从根本上来看，只要是秘而不宣的事情，总是能自然而然地引起人们极大的好奇心，这其实是人性的一部分。”
VOCABULARY
Earthling: n. 地球人（常用于科幻小说中）
extraterrestrial: n. 外星人；星外来客
galactic: adj. 星系的
lore: n. 传说；传闻