AEE：外星人存在吗？如何探讨地外生命

这里是All Ears English播客。

This is the All Ears English Podcast.

外星人存在吗？

Do aliens exist?

如何通过地外生命建立联系。

How to connect over extraterrestrial life.

欢迎收听All Ears English播客，下载量已超过两亿次。

Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times.

你是否觉得英语学习遇到了瓶颈？

Are you feeling stuck with your English?

我们将向你展示如何通过关注连接而非完美，变得无畏且流利，由你的美国主持人奥布里·卡特（雅思专家）和林赛·麦克马洪（英语冒险家）主持，他们来自美国亚利桑那州和科罗拉多州。

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS Wiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English Adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.

想要在手机上获取实时文本并创建个性化词汇表，请尝试适用于iOS和Android的All Ears English应用。

To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android.

在allearsenglish.com/app开始你的七天免费试用。

Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com/app.

你有没有用英语和外星人聊过天？

Have you ever had a conversation about aliens from outer space in English?

今天，我们来聊聊为什么这在美国现在是个热门话题，以及怎么用它开启一段精彩的对话。

Today, find out why this is a hot topic in the US right now and how to approach it to strike up a great conversation.

你有没有遇到过这种情况？

Has this ever happened to you?

你正说着话，突然发现自己语速慢了下来。

You're mid-sentence and you hear yourself slow down.

你开始简化表达。

You simplify.

你避开了真正想用的那个词。

You avoid the word you actually want.

这种时刻在会议、面试和日常对话中不断累积。

That moment adds up in meetings, interviews, and everyday conversations.

它让你感到沉重，甚至让你觉得孤立无援。

It weighs on you and makes you feel isolated.

要建立真正的联系就变得更难了。

It becomes harder to make real connections.

我们免费的2分钟流利度测试能帮你找出是什么打断了你的表达和人际联系，以及如何解决。

Our free two-minute fluency quiz helps you identify what interrupts your flow and your connections, and how to fix it.

你会得到你的英语水平等级，B1、B2或C1，并且知道接下来该怎么提升。

You'll get your English level, B1, B2, or C1, and you'll figure out where to go from here.

现在就访问 allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore 开始测试吧。

Start now at allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore.

网址是 allearsenglish.com/F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E。

That's allearsenglish.com/F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E.

你好，Lindsay。

Hello, Lindsay.

你好吗？

How are you?

你好，Aubrey。

Hello, Aubrey.

你今天过得怎么样？

How are you doing today?

我特别好。

I'm excellent.

我很兴奋今天能和你聊外星人，Lindsay。

I'm excited to talk about extraterrestrials with you today, Lindsay.

是的。

Yes.

你相信有外星人吗？

Do you believe in aliens?

我相信有外星人吗？

Do I believe in aliens?

啊，我真的不知道我信不信这个。

Ah, I really don't know what my belief is there.

还没决定。

Undecided.

我去过新墨西哥州的罗斯威尔一次——

I went to Roswell once in New Mexico-

哦，真的吗？

Oh, really?

……

...

那个地方，怎么说呢，他们声称看到过一道光——

which is a place where, I don't know, they're claiming to have seen a light-

传闻中的坠毁地点。

A rumored crash site.

坠毁地点。

Crash site.

对，我去之前是那么想的，但现在我不太确定了。

Yes, and I left feeling like I did, but now I'm not so sure.

我看过好几部纪录片，看完之后我都深信不疑。

I've seen several documentaries where I finish it convinced.

有人会讲自己被绑架之类的经历，而且他们看起来——

Someone will be talking about being abducted or something, and they seem-

……特别可信。

... so believable.

但然后——

But then-

确实特别可信。

It seems so believable

……

...

我继续过我的日子，然后就想：“不对。”

I get on with my life and I'm like, "No."

现在你就想：“不对。”

Now you're like, "No."

是的，我知道。

Yeah, I know.

这确实挺棘手的。

It's really tricky.

所以有点模棱两可。

So a little wishy-washy.

听起来我们俩都有点模棱两可。

We're both a little wishy-washy, it sounds like.

但这在美国文化中真的是一个有趣又常见的话题。

But this is really a fun and common topic of conversation in American culture.

是的。

Yes.

我经常和别人聊这个，而且——

I talk to people about this a lot, and-

真的吗？

Really?

很多人都有过某种经历，或者认识见过什么的人。

... a lot of people have some kind of experience or know someone who has seen something.

我父亲——

My father-

真的吗？

Really?

……他年轻的时候看到过不明飞行物，还有我丈夫——

... saw a UFO when he was young, and my husband-

哇

Whoa

……我们也看到过一些东西。

... and I saw something.

因为实际上，说到不明飞行物，我们要讨论一下它到底是什么意思。

Because really, a UFO, we're going to talk about what it means.

它就是指某种无法识别的东西。

It just means something unidentified.

你不知道那是什么。

You don't know what it is.

你不知道那是什么。

You don't know what it is.

所以它实际上可能是军用飞机，或者来自其他国家的什么东西，只是你不熟悉而已。

So it could actually be a military aircraft or something from another country that you're just not familiar with.

谁知道呢？

Who knows?

可能是有解释的。

There's probably an explanation.

但也可能没有。

But maybe not.

这让我想起你可能会聊到的关于鬼魂的话题。

It reminds me of the conversation that you might have about ghosts.

你相信有鬼吗？

Do you believe in ghosts?

相信。

Yes.

没错。

Exactly.

因为我觉得有些目击事件也可能是超自然现象，对吧？

Because I feel like some of those sightings also could have been paranormal, right?

没错。

Exactly.

很有可能。

Very possible.

对，肯定。

Yeah, for sure.

是的，很多人可能都这么认为。

Yeah, a lot of people probably believe that.

所以这些就是对话。

So these are conversations.

你相信有鬼吗？

Do you believe in ghosts?

你相信有外星人吗？

Do you believe in aliens?

这些话题在美国文化中，母语者之间确实经常聊到。

These conversations definitely come up in American culture with native speakers.

所以今天我们就来学习怎么聊这个话题，Aubrey。

So we're going to learn how to have this conversation today, Aubrey.

没错。

Exactly.

不过首先，我们要感谢一些听众的评论。

But first, we want to thank some reviewers.

是的。

Yes.

我们非常感谢每一位给播客评分和评论的朋友。

We are so grateful for everyone who rates and reviews the podcast.

这就像一封写给我们的感谢信。

It's like a thank you letter to us.

我们会读这些评论，然后我们——

We read them, and we-

对

Yes

……会尽量给每一位留下评论的人一个点名感谢。

... will try to give you a shout-out, anyone who leaves a review.

所以，非常感谢来自印度的Milad Asampur，他给我们留了评论。

So a huge thank you to Milad Asampur from India, who left us a review.

感谢6月21日的Sana Kaviani，还有来自英国的SSTT。

Thank you to Sana Kaviani on June 21st, and SSTT from the UK.

非常感谢这些优秀的听众为我们节目留下评论。

Huge thank you to these amazing listeners for reviewing our show.

是的。

Yes.

所以，谢谢你们。

So thank you.

对，各位，记得给我们的节目留个评论。

Yes, and guys, leave your review for the show.

如果你想在节目里听到自己的名字被念出来，我们会尽力在节目中喊到你。

If you want to hear your name announced out loud, we'll do our best to call you out on the show.

好吗？

All right?

当然。

Absolutely.

是的，给我们留个评论，给节目打个分。

Yes, leave us a review, rate the show.

这样也能帮助更多人发现我们的节目。

It also helps others find the show.

对。

Yes.

而且，听到大家的正面反馈总是很开心的，尤其是当有人——

And yeah, it's always nice to hear that great feedback when anyone-

对

Yes

……留下评论。

... leaves a comment.

当然。

For sure.

好的。

All right.

所以最近有一些史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格的大片，奥布里——

So there have been some big Steven Spielberg films, Aubrey-

……你最近看过的。

... that you've seen lately.

我想提几部。

I wanted to mention a few.

最近出了很多关于外星人的大片，基本上就是这样。

So a lot of movies have come out recently that have been really big about aliens, basically.

《披露日》。

"Disclosure Day."

好的。

Okay.

史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格今年夏天早些时候拍了一部电影，登顶了全球票房。

Steven Spielberg did this film that topped the global box office earlier this summer.

哦。

Huh.

而且史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格还拍了《E.T.外星人》

And Steven Spielberg also did "E.T."

和《第三类接触》，那是1977年的老片子了。

and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which is an older film from 1977.

对。

Yes.

这两部你都看过吗，林赛？

Have you seen both of those, Lindsay?

哦，我看过《E.T.》。

Oh, I've seen "E.T."

我记得小时候看过《E.T.》。

I remember watching "E.T."

小时候看的。

as a kid.

太感人了。

It's so sweet.

太感人了。

It's so sweet.

确实。

It is.

哎呀。

Aw.

而且现在看也不过时。

And it holds up.

我和我的孩子们一起看的。

I watched it with my kids.

好的。

Okay.

他们很喜欢。

They loved it.

当然，它看起来有点旧，对吧？

Of course, it looks older, right?

当然，但这就是它的好处。

Of course, but that's what's so good about it.

但他们还是很喜欢，因为这是一个关于人性的故事。

But they still loved it because it's a human interest story.

哦，还有《火星救援》，那部——

Oh, and then "Project Hail Mary," that one-

是的

Yes

……是部比较新的电影，对吧？

... newer movie, right?

那部也是，是的，那是一部大制作——

That was also, yes, that was a big film-

……春季上映的，瑞恩·高斯林主演，那部也是……

... in the springtime with Ryan Gosling, and that also was...

这不算剧透，因为预告片里就能看到他和外星人相遇。

This is not really a spoiler because you see in the preview that he meets this alien.

而且故事的大部分内容，可能你们现在都已经看过了。

And a lot of the story, probably by now you've all seen it.

如果还没看，真的应该去看看。

If not, you really should.

太棒了。

It's so great.

而且讲的是他们如何想办法沟通——

And it's about how they figure out how to communicate-

对

Yes

……然后一起拯救世界。

... and save the world together.

是的。

Yes.

而且这真的有点像现代版的《E.T.》

And it's really sort of an updated "E.T."

真的很好看。

It's so good.

哦，我很喜欢那个。

Oh, love that.

超喜欢。

Love it.

那为什么这个话题现在这么热门呢，Aubrey？

So why is this kind of a hot topic right now, Aubrey?

对，这挺有意思的。

Yeah, this is interesting.

所以，在美国，今年五月，美国政府开始公布之前与UFO相关的机密文件，这是为了落实特朗普总统关于公开不明现象政府文件的命令。

So, in the United States, in May of this year, the US government began releasing previously classified files related to UFOs, and this was following through on an order from President Trump to make public government documents about unexplained phenomena.

他们建了一个政府网站，你可以在上面看到很多之前保密的军事文件和视频，CBS新闻还发了一篇文章，讨论这是否让更多人相信外星人的存在。

So, they had created a government site where you could see a lot of these previously classified military documents, videos, and there was an article in CBS News about this and about if this is making people believe more in aliens.

还做了民意调查。

And had opinion polls.

那么，Lindsay，那篇文章里有哪些数据？

So, what were some of the stats from that article, Lindsay?

我们读到，三分之一的美国人相信外星人存在，我觉得这个比例挺高的。

So, we read that one third of Americans believe that aliens exist, which is pretty high, I think.

确实挺高的。

It is pretty high, yeah.

17%的美国人说他们见过UFO，或者他们认为那是UFO的东西，对吧？

17% of Americans report having seen a UFO or something they think is a UFO, right?

嗯，这就是有意思的地方。

Well, and that's what's interesting.

我们接下来要讲一下词汇，UFO就是指不明飞行物。

We're going to get into the vocab here, but so UFO just means unidentified flying object.

我们平时也会把它叫做飞碟。

So, we also refer to these informally as a flying saucer.

哦，对。

Oh, yeah.

但其实任何人看到一架飞机都可以叫它UFO，因为对你来说，它是无法识别的。

But anyone, you could see a plane and call it a UFO, because to you, it's unidentified.

你抬头看天空，不一定知道那是什么。

You can't look into the sky and know what it is.

但如果它是——

But if it's-

……比如政府文件里称它为UFO，那就意味着，好吧，如果美国政府说他们不知道那是什么，而且不是军事用途——

... like a government document, and they're calling it a UFO, then it's like, okay, this is officially, if the American government is saying they don't know what that was, and it's not military-

……航天器，那就意味着这个国家没人知道那是什么。

... spacecraft, then it's like no one in this country knows what this was.

我好久没听过“飞碟”这个词了。

I haven't heard the term flying saucer in so long.

感觉这个词在八十年代、九十年代用得很多，但最近都没怎么听到了。

I feel like that term was used a lot in, I don't know, in the '80s, the '90s, but I haven't heard it in a while.

真好笑。

That's so funny.

天哪。

Oh, man.

确实好笑，对吧？

It is funny, right?

飞碟这个词，我们在老电影里经常听到——

A flying saucer, we hear this in older movies-

对

Yes

……关于外星人、其他星球上的生命，但确实，这种说法很不正式，对吧？

... about extraterrestrials, life on other planets, but yeah, it's very informal, right?

是的。

Yes.

你永远不会在官方政府文件中看到它们被称为飞碟。

You would never see in these official government documents, they would never be called flying saucers.

有道理。

Makes sense.

这更像是我们小时候用的词，对吧？

This is like a term we used as kids more, right?

对，确实。

Yeah, for sure.

那么，来几个开场话题。

So, some conversation starters.

你见过不明飞行物吗？

Have you ever seen a UFO?

我的意思是，咱们就直截了当地说吧，对吧？

I mean, let's just be direct and obvious about it, right?

没错。

Exactly.

开门见山。

Upfront.

所以，当我丈夫和我还在约会的时候，我们看到天空中有一排灯光，像在远处悬停着。

So, when my husband and I were just dating, we saw this row of lights in the sky, like hovering at a distance.

那东西一定非常大，我们当时正要去他父母家，所以想让他们出来看看，然后——

It would've had to be something very big, and we were headed to his parents' house, so we wanted them to come out and see it and-

……看看我们能不能……

... see if we could...

我们当时想，"这可能是军事的，但我们知道的东西里没有能——"

We're like, "This may be military, but nothing we know of that could have-

……能那样悬停的，"对吧？

... that could just be hovering like that," right?

有意思。

Interesting.

而且在亚利桑那州，有很多目击事件和照片，他们管那个叫索诺兰之光什么的。

And in Arizona, there have been a lot of sightings and photographs of, they call them the Sonoran Lights or something.

我也不太清楚。

I don't know.

然后我们进去的时候，有几架军用喷气机从头顶飞过，更像是《壮志凌云》里那种喷气机，对吧？

And then when we went in, there were these military jets that flew overhead, more like the Top Gun jets, right?

就是那种喷气机。

Those jets.

哦，对。

Oh, right.

然后它就消失了。

And then it was just gone.

有意思。

Interesting.

所以，就是很奇怪。

So, it was just strange.

对我们来说，那绝对是不明飞行物，因为我们根本认不出那是什么。

To us, definitely a UFO because we could not identify what that is.

我们不知道有什么军用飞机能那么大，还能那样悬停，对吧？

We don't know of any military aircraft that is that big or capable of just hovering like that, right?

但当然，也有可能只是某种我们不知道的军事机密。

But it's, of course, always possible that there's just some kind of military intelligence that we don't know about.

当然。

Sure.

嗯，有意思的是，我最近好像看到有人接受采访聊这个，那人好像是NASA的科学家之类的。

Well, it's funny because I feel like I recently saw someone being interviewed about this, and he was a NASA scientist or something.

我记得他说的是，它们可能存在，因为当你知道很多关于太空和科学的事情时，你就知道得够多，足以知道——

And I feel like what he said was, it's possible that they exist because when you know so much about space and science and things, you know enough to know-

宇宙有多浩瀚。

And how vast it is

……你不可能什么都知道。

... you can't know everything.

宇宙那么浩瀚，而且——

How vast it is and how-

……我们实际上能了解的关于这片浩瀚的，少之又少——

... little we can actually know about the vastness-

没错。

Exactly

……那里到底有什么。

... what's actually out there.

他就像在说：“我可不想对——

He's like, "I'm not about to make any kind of comment-

……外面有什么——

... about what's out there-

……在那不可知的太空里，发表任何评论，”对吧？

... in the unknowable space," right?

确实如此。

It's exactly.

真有意思。

Really interesting.

对，他差不多就是这么说的。

Yeah, that was kind of what he said.

所以，确实挺有意思的。

So, yeah, interesting.

然后，还有一个很有意思的话题，就是——

And so then it's also an interesting conversation to-

聊聊外星人，或者地外生命，有没有可能真的来过地球。

... talk about whether aliens, extraterrestrials, have potentially visited Earth.

所以，你可能会想问——

So, you might want to ask-

有没有人见过UFO，或者遇到过什么无法解释的事情。

... if someone's ever seen a UFO or if they've seen anything they couldn't explain.

对。

Yep.

但你也可以问问他们是否相信外星人造访过我们的星球，有些人相信他们现在就生活在我们中间，隐藏着。

But you might also want to ask if they believe aliens either have visited our planet, some people believe they are here living among us, hidden.

就像《黑衣人》里那样，对吧？

Like on Men in Black right?

伪装成人类。

Hiding as humans.

是的。

Yes.

是的。

Yes.

那么，Lindsay，alien这个词是什么意思？

So, what does this mean, alien, Lindsay, that word?

Alien，我们通常说extraterrestrial，就像电影《ET》那样，对吧？

Alien, we use the term extraterrestrial, like ET the movie, right?

对。

Yep.

基本上，就是来自地球以外的生物，可能会出现在地球上，也可能不会，可能就待在他们自己的地方——

Basically, just a being from outside of the Earth, that might show up on Earth or may not, may remain in their place-

……在外太空。

... in outer space.

所以，就是和地球以外的生命有关，对吧？

So, relating to life beyond Earth, right?

比如说，你可以问别人：“你相信外星人造访过我们的星球吗？”

And so, for example, you could ask someone, "Do you believe that aliens have visited our planet?"

你可以说“外星人”，或者直接问：“你相信外星人存在吗？”

And you could say, "Extraterrestrial," or you could say just, "Do you believe aliens exist?"

是的。

Yes.

有意思的是，“alien”这个词，这里顺便提一下，历史上曾被用来指代移民，指任何人，甚至……

And it's interesting, this word alien, this is just kind of a note here, it has historically been used to refer to immigrants, to anyone, to...

这真的很—

And this is really-

……

...

随着语言的演变，我们开始觉得这样有问题，因为—

as language has evolved, we have started to believe that this is problematic because-

……它被用来把别人异化。

... it is used to make someone other.

一个来自外—

A being from outside-

……地球的生命，用来扩大差异的鸿沟。

... Earth, to increase the gap of difference.

对。

That's right.

所以，现在越来越不认为把一个人称为“非法外星人”是合适的了。

So, more and more, that's not really considered correct to call a person an illegal alien, for example.

现在我们用的术语更包容了。

And we use terminology that is more inclusive now.

对，奥布里，你说得很有道理。而且有时候，你可能会遇到跨代对话的情况。

Yeah, that's a really good point, Aubrey, and often maybe you'll have an intergenerational conversation.

像我们这年纪的人，跟父母或祖父母聊天时，他们可能会用“非法外星人”这个词，然后我们会纠正他们。

Someone our age might be talking to our parents or grandparents or something, and they might use the term illegal alien, and we'd correct them.

我们会说：“你不能再用那个词了。”

We'd say, "You can't say that anymore."

对，就像这样，“啊”，然后给他们——

Right, be like, "Ah," and give them-

……一个更好的说法，对吧？

... a better term, right?

是的。

Yes.

所以，显然我们这里讨论的不是那个，完全是另一回事，但很高兴你提到了这一点。

So, obviously that's not what we're talking about here, completely different, but I'm glad you called that out.

但有趣的是，当人们听到“alien”这个词时，对吧，我们说的是——

But it is interesting when people hear the word alien, right, and we're talking about-

……外星人。

... extraterrestrials.

你可能听说过——

That you may have heard-

是的

Yes

……“alien”这个词也有那种用法。

... the word alien used that way as well.

你可能一直在想，比如，“嗯，为什么我们现在不那样用了呢？”

And you might have been wondering, like, "Hmm, why don't we use it that way anymore?"

说得好。

Good point.

你有没有遇到过这种情况：刚开始说英语，突然之间词就没了？

Do you ever start speaking English and suddenly the words disappear?

你会停顿太多，犹豫不决。

You pause too much, you hesitate.

你知道自己想说什么，但往往是在事后，而不是在关键时刻。

You know what you want to say, but only later, not in the moment when it matters.

这就是你流利度出问题的地方，而且这是可以解决的。

This is where your fluency is breaking down, and it's fixable

所以我们推出了两分钟流利度测试。

That's why we created our two-minute fluency quiz.

它能立刻告诉你目前的英语水平，让你知道接下来该重点提升什么。

It shows you your exact English level right now, so you know what to work on next.

你是B1、B2还是C1？

Are you B1, B2, or C1?

来测测看吧。

Find out.

现在就去 allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore，搞清楚你的英语水平，以及从今天开始如何提升。

Go now to allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore and get clarity on your English level and how you can improve this year, starting today.

再说一次，去 allearsenglish.com/F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E。

One more time, go to allearsenglish.com/F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E.

好了，Aubrey，我们休息回来了。

All right, Aubrey, we're back from break.

我们来做个角色扮演吧。

Let's go into a role play here.

在这个角色扮演里，我们是朋友，在派对上聊天，所以会聊到外星人。

In this role play, we are friends, and we're chatting at a party, so aliens are going to come up.

没错。

Exactly.

我先开始吧。

I'll start us out.

你看过《Disclosure Day》吗？

Have you seen "Disclosure Day?"

看过了。

I did.

那部片子太吸引人了。

It was fascinating.

看完之后我一直念念不忘。

I couldn't stop thinking about it afterward.

我也是。

Same here.

它真的让我思考其他星球上是否有生命。

It really made me wonder if there's life on other planets.

说实话，我觉得这很有可能。

Honestly, I think it's plausible.

宇宙那么大。

The universe is enormous.

地球不太可能是唯一有生命的星球。

It seems unlikely that Earth is the only planet with life.

我同意。

I agree.

我不确定的是外星人是否真的来过地球。

What I'm not sure about is whether aliens have visited Earth.

我明白。

I get it.

不过，那些军方目击事件确实很引人注目。

Some of those military sightings are super compelling, though.

不过，我相信所有这些都有合理的解释。

I'm sure there's an explanation for all of them, though.

你确实比我更持怀疑态度。

You're definitely more skeptical than I am.

不错。

Nice.

这很有意思。

This is interesting.

我喜欢这样的对话。

I love a conversation like this.

很少有朋友会在这种事情上完全意见一致。

Rarely will two friends be exactly on the same page about something like this.

可能一个比另一个更持怀疑态度。

One might be more skeptical than the other.

而且我们确实需要这种语言来尊重和认可——

And we do need this language to be able to respect and recognize-

是的

Yes

——彼此信念的合理性。

... validity in each other's beliefs.

是的，当然。

Yes, for sure.

那么奥布里，我们这里用了哪些短语呢？

So what were some of the phrases that we used here, Aubrey?

我们该从哪里开始呢？

Where should we start again?

首先，我们就是在分享彼此的看法，我很喜欢用这种方式来开启对话。

So first of all, we're just kind of sharing, and I love this way to start this conversation.

你可以直接问，比如“你相信有外星人吗？”

You can ask, just like, "Do you believe in aliens?"

或者，“你觉得其他星球上有生命吗？”

Or, "Do you think there's life on other planets?"

但你也可以像我这样，用另一种方式切入话题。

But you can also enter the conversation this way like I did.

我说，“你看过《披露日》吗？”

I said, "Did you see 'Disclosure Day?'"

或者，“你听说过《披露日》吗？”

Or, "Have you seen 'Disclosure Day?'"

这是一部关于外星人的电影。

And this is a movie that's about aliens.

如果他们没看过，那你就可以问其他那些问题，比如——

And if they haven't seen it, then you could ask one of these other questions, like-

是的

Yes

……“哦，其实这部电影讲的是外星人造访地球。”

... "Oh, it's actually about aliens visiting Earth."

然后你可以问：“你觉得呢？

And then you could ask, "What do you think?

你相信有外星人吗？”

Do you believe in aliens?"

但如果他们看过这部电影，那你们就已经有了共同话题，有了可以聊下去的基础。

But if they've seen the film, then you already have this in common, this foundation to build on.

如果完全没铺垫，一上来就问“你相信有外星人吗？”确实有点奇怪。

It's a little weird if you just completely cold start a conversation by saying, "Do you believe in aliens?"

我觉得跟好朋友倒是可以这么问，对吧？

I guess you could with a close friend, right?

但我觉得提到那部电影——

But I think the citing the movie-