聯合國任命首位星際外交官 代表人類接觸外星人

　　A space ambassador could be appointed by the United Nations to act as the first point of contact for aliens trying to communicate with Earth.　　聯合國將任命首位「星際外交官」，代表人類與試圖和地球聯繫的外星人進行最初接觸。

　　Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist, is set to be tasked with co-ordinating humanity』s response if and when extraterrestrials make contact.　　擔當這一重任的是馬來西亞天體物理學家馬斯藍?奧斯瑪，她的職責是，假設有外星人接觸地球時，協調人類的應對行動。

　　Aliens who landed on earth and asked: 「Take me to your leader」 would be directed to Mrs Othman.　　那些降臨到地球，並要求「見領導」的外星人將由奧斯瑪夫人接待。

　　She will set out the details of her proposed new role at a Royal Society conference in Buckinghamshire next week.　　她將於下周在英國白金漢郡舉行的皇家學會會議上詳細闡釋她的新職責。

　　The 58-year-old is expected to tell delegates that the proposal has been prompted by the recent discovery of hundreds of planets orbiting other stars, which is thought to make the discovery of extraterrestrial life more probable than ever before.　　據稱，現年58歲的奧斯瑪將告訴與會代表，提議增設這一職位是由於近期發現了數百個新的恆星系，極大增加了發現外星生命的可能性。

　　Mrs Othman is currently head of the UN』s little known Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa).　　奧斯瑪夫人目前是聯合國外太空事務辦公室（Unoosa）最高負責人，這一機構並不為公眾熟知。

　　In a recent talk to fellow scientists, she said: 「The continued search for extraterrestrial communication, by several entities, sustains the hope that some day human kind will receive signals from extraterrestrials.　　她最近在與科學家友人的談話中說：「很多機構都在不斷尋找與外星生命溝通的渠道，很可能有一天我們會接收到來自外星人的信號。」

　　「When we do, we should have in place a coordinated response that takes into account all the sensitivities related to the subject. The UN is aready-mademechanism for such coordination.」　　「當這一天到來時，我們必須能夠立即作出合理有序的應對，將所有敏感因素考慮在內，而聯合國正是一個現成的協調機構。」

　　Opinion is divided about how future extraterrestrial visitors should be greeted. Under the Outer Space Treaty on 1967, which Unoosa oversees, UN members agreed to protect Earth against contamination by alien species by 「sterilising」 them.　　有關未來如何接待外星訪客一直存有爭議。根據1967年由外太空事務辦公室監督制定的《外太空條約》，聯合國成員國同意通過使他們「絕育「的方法保護地球免於受到外星物種的污染。

　　Mrs Othman is understood to support a more tolerant approach.　　據稱奧斯瑪夫人支持採用更加寬容的方式。

　　But Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that alieninterlopersshould be treated with caution.　　而斯蒂芬?霍金教授已提醒大家，應謹慎對待外星「擅入者」。

　　He said: 「I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. The outcome for us would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn』t turn out very well for the Native Americans.」　　他說：「我猜他們會生活在巨大的飛船里，耗盡了本星球資源。他們闖入地球就像哥倫布發現新大陸，而我們的遭遇就像那些悲慘的印第安人。」

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