PART I THE PSYCHOHISTORIANS

1.

HARI SELDON?.. born in the 11,988th year of the Galactic Era; died 12,069.
The dates are more  commonly given in terms of the current Foundational Era as  ?79  to  the year  1 F.E.  Born  to middle-class  parents  on Helicon,
Arcturus sector  (where his  father, in a legend  of doubtful authenticity¹,
was  a tobacco  grower in the  hydroponic plants  of the planet),  he early showed amazing ability in mathematics. Anecdotes² concerning his ability are innumerable, and  some are contradictory³. At the age of  two, he is said to have ...

...  Undoubtedly   his  greatest   contributions  were  in   the  field  of psychohistory.  Seldon found  the  field little  more than  a set  of vague axioms; he left it a profound statistical⁴ science....

... The best existing  authority we have for the details of his life is the biography written by Gaal Dornick who. as a young man, met Seldon two years before  the  great mathematician's  death.  The  story of  the meeting  ...



ENCYCLOPEDIA⁵ GALACTICA*

* All quotations⁶ from  the Encyclopedia Galactica here reproduced are taken from the 116th Edition published in 1020 F.E. by the Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing   Co.,   Terminus,    with   permission   of   the   publishers.

心理史学家
哈里·谢顿……生于银河纪元一一九八八年，卒于一二○六九年。他的生卒年分较常以目前通用的基地纪元记载，即生于基地纪元负八十一年，卒于基地元年。
谢顿的故乡为大角星区的赫利肯星，父母为中产阶级的平民。（根据并不可靠的传说，谢顿的父亲是该行星水耕区的烟草农夫。）他自幼就显露出惊人的数学天分，关于这些天分的传闻轶事不胜枚举，有些甚至互相矛盾。
据说他才两岁的时候，就会……
谢顿一生最大的贡献，无疑是心理史学的开拓。当他刚接触这门学问时，心理史学只能算是一组含糊的公设。谢顿则从这些公设出发，导出了一个深奥的统计科学……
关于谢顿生平的详细记载，目前保有的最权威资料是盖尔·多尼克所著的传记。在这位伟大的数学家去世之前两年，仍是年轻小伙子的多尼克才与他结识，关于他们相遇的故事……
——《银河百科全书》*
_____________________________
*本书所引用的《银河百科全书》资料，皆取自基地纪元一○二○年出版的第一一六版。发行者为端点星银河百科全书出版公司，作者承蒙发行者授权引用。

1 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

2 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

4 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

5 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

6 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》