Chapter 2

The ship  landed in a medley  of noises. There was  the far-off hiss¹ of theatmosphere cutting  and sliding past the  metal of the ship.  There was thesteady drone  of the  conditioners fighting the  heat of friction,  and theslower rumble  of the  engines enforcing deceleration. There  was the humansound of men and  women gathering² in the debarkation³ rooms and the grind ofthe hoists⁴ lifting baggage, mail, and freight to the long axis⁵ of the ship,from  which they  would  be later  moved along  to the  unloading platform.
Gaal  felt  the  slight  jar that  indicated  the  ship  no  longer had  anindependent  motion of  its  own. Ship's  gravity  had been  giving way  toplanetary  gravity  for hours.  Thousands  of passengers  had been  sittingpatiently  in  the  debarkation   rooms  which  swung  easily  on  yieldingforce-fields to  accommodate its  orientation⁶ to the  changing direction ofthe gravitational forces. Now  they were crawling down curving ramps⁷ to thelarge, yawning locks.
Gaal's  baggage was  minor⁸.  He stood  at a  desk,  as it  was  quickly andexpertly taken  apart and  put together again.  His visa was  inspected andstamped. He himself paid no attention.
This was  Trantor! The air seemed a little thicker  here, the gravity a bitgreater, than on his  home planet of Synnax, but he would get used to that.
He wondered if he would get used to immensity.
Debarkation  Building  was tremendous.  The  roof  was almost  lost in  theheights.  Gaal could  almost  imagine that  clouds could  form  beneath itsimmensity. He could see no opposite wall; just men and desks and convergingfloor till it faded out in haze⁹.
The man at the  desk was speaking again. He sounded annoyed. He said, "Moveon, Dornick." He had to open the visa, look again, before he remembered thename.
Gaal said, "Where?where?
The man  at the desk jerked  a thumb, "Taxis to  the right and third left."Gaal moved, seeing the  glowing twists of air suspended high in nothingnessand reading, "TAXIS TO ALL POINTS."A figure  detached itself from anonymity  and stopped at the  desk, as Gaalleft. The  man at the desk looked up and  nodded briefly¹⁰. The figure noddedin return and followed the young immigrant.
He was in time to hear Gaal's destination.
Gaal found himself hard against a railing.
The small  sign said, "Supervisor¹¹." The  man to whom the  sign referred didnot look up. He said, "Where to?"Gaal wasn't  sure, but even a  few seconds hesitation¹² meant  men queuing inline behind him.
The Supervisor looked up, "Where to?"Gaal's funds were low,  but there was only this one night and then he wouldhave  a  job.  He  tried  to  sound  nonchalant, "A  good  hotel,  please."The   Supervisor   was  unimpressed,   "They're   all   good.  Name   one."Gaal said, desperately¹³, "The nearest one, please."The  Supervisor touched  a button. A  thin line  of light formed  along thefloor,  twisting  among others  which  brightened and  dimmed in  differentcolors  and  shades. A  ticket  was  shoved into  Gaal's  hands. It  glowedfaintly.
The Supervisor said, "One point twelve."Gaal fumbled¹⁴ for the coins. He said, "Where do I go?""Follow the  light. The ticket will keep glowing  as long as you're pointedin the tight direction."Gaal looked  up and began walking. There  were hundreds creeping across thevast  floor,  following  their  individual trails,  sifting  and  strainingthemselves  through  intersection  points  to arrive  at  their  respectivedestinations.
His own trail ended.  A man in glaring blue and yellow uniform, shining andnew   in   unstainable   plasto-textile,   reached  for   his   two   bags.
"Direct line to the Luxor," he said.
The man  who followed Gaal heard that. He also  heard Gaal say, "Fine," andwatched him enter the blunt-nosed vehicle.
The  taxi  lifted straight  up.  Gaal  stared out  the curved,  transparentwindow,  marvelling  at  the  sensation  of airflight  within  an  enclosedstructure and clutching instinctively¹⁵ at the back of the driver's seat. Thevastness contracted and the  people became ants in random¹⁶ distribution. Thescene contracted further and began to slide backward.
There was a wall ahead. It began high in the air and extended upward out ofsight. It  was riddled¹⁷ with holes  that were the mouths  of tunnels. Gaal'staxi moved  toward one  then plunged¹⁸ into  it. For a  moment, Gaal wonderedidly how his driver could pick out one among so many.
There  was now  only  blackness, with  nothing but  the past-flashing  of acolored signal  light to relieve the  gloom. The air was  full of a rushingsound.
Gaal leaned  forward against deceleration  then and the taxi  popped out ofthe tunnel and descended¹⁹ to ground-level once more.
"The Luxor Hotel," said  the driver, unnecessarily. He helped Gaal with hisbaggage, accepted  a tenth-credit tip with a  businesslike air, picked up awaiting passenger, and was rising again.
In all  this, from the moment of debarkation, there  had been no glimpse ofsky.

1 hiss   

v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满

参考例句：

• We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
• Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 debarkation   

n.下车，下船，登陆

参考例句：

• Note: The identical account number multi-role debarkation only provides one silver piece. 注：同一账号多角色登陆只发放一次元宝。 来自互联网
• Dependence on air and sea ports of debarkation would be reduced. 对卸载机场和登陆港口的依赖性将会降低。 来自互联网

4 hoists   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mine hoists are usually operated by the counterbalance of an ascending and a descending car. 矿井升降机通常用一个升车一个落车互相平衡的方法进行操作。
• Sam understands tacitly. He hoists his cup saying. 山姆心领神会，举起酒杯。

5 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

6 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

7 ramps   

resources allocation and multiproject scheduling 资源分配和多项目的行程安排

参考例句：

• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。
• He has the upper floor and ramps are fitted everywhere for his convenience. 他住在上面一层，为了他的方便着想，到处设有坡道。

8 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

9 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

12 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

13 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

14 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

15 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

17 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

19 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。