Chapter 16

Asper Argo, the Well-Beloved, Commdor of the Korellian Republic greeted hiswife's entry by a hangdog lowering of his scanty¹ eyebrows². To her at least,his   self-adopted   epithet   did   not   apply.  Even   he   knew   that.
She said,  in a  voice as sleek  as her hair  and as cold as  her eyes, "Mygracious lord,  I understand, has finally come to  a decision upon the fateof the Foundation upstarts.""Indeed?"  said the  Commdor, sourly.  "And what  more does  your versatileunderstanding embrace?""Enough,  my  very  noble  husband. You  had  another  of your  vacillatingconsultations with your councilors. Fine advisors³." With infinite scorn, "Aherd  of palsied  purblind⁴ idiots  hugging their  sterile⁵ profits  close totheir   sunken   chests  in   the   face  of   my  father's   displeasure.""And who,  my dear," was the  mild response, "is the  excellent source fromwhich your understanding understands all this?"The  Commdora laughed  shortly, "If  I told  you, my  source would  be morecorpse than source.""Well,  you'll have  your  own way,  as always."  The Commdor  shrugged⁶ andturned  away. "And  as for  your father's  displeasure: I  much fear  me itextends to a niggardly⁷ refusal to supply more ships.""More ships!" She blazed away, hotly, "And haven't you five? Don't deny it.
I know you have five; and a sixth is promised.""Promised for the last year.""But one ?just  one ?can blast that Foundation into stinking⁹ rubble¹⁰. Justone!   One,   to  sweep   their   little   pygmy  boats   out  of   space.""I couldn't attack their planet, even with a dozen.""And  how long  would their planet  hold out  with their trade  ruined, andtheir  cargoes¹¹ of  toys and  trash destroyed?"  "Those toys and  trash meanmoney," he sighed. "A good deal of money.""But  if  you  had  the  Foundation  itself,  would  you not  have  all  itcontained'? And if you had my father's respect and gratitude¹², would you nothave more than ever  the Foundation could give you? It's been three years ?
more  ? since that  barbarian  came  with his  magic  sideshow. It's  longenough.""My dear!" The Commdor turned and faced her. "I am growing old. I am weary.
I lack  the resilience to withstand  your rattling¹³ mouth. You  say you knowthat I  have decided¹⁴.  Well, I have. It  is over, and there  is war betweenKorell and the Foundation.""Well!" The Commdora's figure  expanded and her eyes sparkled, "You learnedwisdom at last, though  in your dotage¹⁵. And now when you are master of thishinterland, you  may be sufficiently  respectable to be of  some weight andimportance  in the  Empire. For  one thing,  we might leave  this barbarousworld and attend the viceroy's court. Indeed we might."She swept out, with a smile, and a hand on her hip⁸. Her hair gleamed in thelight.
The Commdor  waited, and then said to the  closed door, with malignance andhate,  "And when  I am  master of what  you call  the hinterland, I  may besufficiently  respectable to  do  without your  father's arrogance  and hisdaughter's tongue. Completely ?without!"

1 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

2 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

3 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

4 purblind   

adj.半盲的；愚笨的

参考例句：

• If an administrator has no access to information,it's as if he was purblind and hard of hearing and had a stuffed nose.做管理工作的人没有信息，就是耳目不灵，鼻子不通。
• Even his most purblind supporters knows this is nonsense.即使他最愚蠢的支持者也知道这是无稽之谈。

5 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

6 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 niggardly   

adj.吝啬的，很少的

参考例句：

• Forced by hunger,he worked for the most niggardly pay.为饥饿所迫，他为极少的工资而工作。
• He is niggardly with his money.他对钱很吝啬。

8 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

9 stinking   

adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透

参考例句：

• I was pushed into a filthy, stinking room. 我被推进一间又脏又臭的屋子里。
• Those lousy, stinking ships. It was them that destroyed us. 是的！就是那些该死的蠢猪似的臭飞船！是它们毁了我们。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

10 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

11 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

13 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 dotage   

n.年老体衰；年老昏聩

参考例句：

• Even in his dotage,the Professor still sits on the committee.即便上了年纪，教授仍然是委员会的一员。
• Sarah moved back in with her father so that she could look after him in his dotage.萨拉搬回来与父亲同住，好在他年老时照顾他。