Chapter 9

The Far Star  was two days out in space, when  Hober Mallow, in his privatequarters with  Senior Lieutenant¹ Drawt,  handed him an envelope,  a roll ofmicrofilm, and a silvery spheroid.
"As of an hour from now, Lieutenant, you're Acting² Captain of the Far Star,until I return, 杘r forever."Drawt  made a  motion of  standing³ but  Mallow waved him  down imperiously.
"Quiet, and listen. The  envelope contains the exact location of the planetto which you're to  proceed. There you will wait for me for two months. If,before the two months  are up, the Foundation locates you, the microfilm ismy report of the trip.
"If, however," and his voice was somber⁴, "I do not return at the end of twomonths, and  Foundation vessels⁵ do  not locate you, proceed  to the planet,Terminus, and  hand in  the Time Capsule  as the report.  Do you understandthat?""Yes, sir.""At no time are  you, or any of the men, to amplify⁶ in any single instance,my official report.""If we are questioned, sir?""Then you know nothing.""Yes, sir."The interview ended, and fifty minutes later, a lifeboat kicked lightly offthe side of the Far Star.

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。