Chapter 12

Hummins practiced eye seemed to take in the recess¹, the other taxis, the diner, the walkways, and the men and women all at a glance. Seldon, trying to look inconspicuous and again not knowing how, watched him, trying not to do so too intently.
When they sat down at a small table and punched in their orders, Seldon, attempting to sound indifferent, said, "Everything okay?"
"Seems so," said Hummin.
"How can you tell?"
Hummin let his dark eyes rest on Seldon for a moment. "Instinct," he said. "Years of news gathering². You look and know, No news here. "
Seldon nodded and felt relieved. Hummin might have said it sardonically³, but there must be a certain amount of truth to it. His satisfaction did not last through the first bite of his sandwich. He looked up at Hummin with his mouth full and with a look of hurt surprise on his face.
Hummin said, "This is a wayside diner, my friend. Cheap, fast, and not very good. The foods homegrown and has an infusion⁴ of rather sharp yeast⁵. Trantorian palates are used to it."
Seldon swallowed with difficulty. "But back in the hotel--"
"You were in the Imperial Sector⁶, Seldon. Food is imported there and where microfood is used it is high-quality. It is also expensive."
Seldon wondered whether to take another bite. "You mean that as long as I stay on Trantor--"
Hummin made a hushing motion with his lips. "Dont give anyone the impression that youre used to better. There are places on Trantor where to be identified as an aristocrat⁷ is worse than being identified as an Outworlder. The food wont⁸ be so bad everywhere, I assure you. These wayside places have a reputation for low quality. If you can stomach that sandwich, youll be able to eat anywhere on Trantor. And it wont hurt you. Its not decayed or bad or anything like that. It just has a harsh, strong taste and, honestly, you may grow accustomed to it. Ive met Trantorians who spit out honest food and say it lacks that homegrown tang."
"Do they grow much food on Trantor?" asked Seldon. A quick side glance showed him there was no one seated in the immediate⁹ vicinity and he spoke¹⁰ quietly. "Ive always heard it takes twenty surrounding worlds to supply the hundreds of freight ships required to feed Trantor every day."
"I know. And hundreds to carry off the load of wastes. And if you want to make the story really good, you say that the same freight ships carry food one way and waste the other. Its true that we import considerable quantities of food, but thats mostly luxury items. And we export considerable waste, carefully treated into inoffensiveness, as important organic fertilizer--every bit as important to other worlds as the food is to us. But thats only a small fraction of the whole."
"It is?"
"Yes. In addition to fish in the sea, there are gardens and truck farms everywhere. And fruit trees and poultry¹¹ and rabbits and vast microorganism farms--usually called yeast farms, though the yeast makes up a minority of the growths. And our wastes are mostly used right here at home to maintain all that growth. In fact, in many ways Trantor is very much like an enormous and overgrown space settlement. Have you ever visited one of those?"
"Indeed I have."
"Space settlements are essentially¹² enclosed cities, with everything artificially cycled, with artificial ventilation, artificial day and night, and so on. Trantor is different only in that even the largest space settlement has a population of only ten million and Trantor has four thousand times that. Of course, we have real gravity. And no space settlement can match us in our microfoods. We have yeast vats¹³, fungal vats, and algae¹⁴ ponds vast beyond the imagination. And we are strong on artificial flavoring, added with no light hand. Thats what gives the taste to what youre eating."
Seldon had gotten through most of his sandwich and found it not as offensive as the first bite had been. "And it wont affect me?"
"It does hit the intestinal¹⁵ flora¹⁶ and every once in a while it afflicts¹⁷ some poor Outworlder with diarrhea, but thats rare, and you harden even to that quickly. Still, drink your milkshake, which you probably wont like. It contains an antidiarrhetic that should keep you safe, even if you tend to be sensitive to such things."
Seldon said querulously, "Dont talk about it, Hummin. A person can be suggestible to such things."
"Finish the milkshake and forget the suggestibility."
They finished the rest of their meal in silence and soon were on their way again.

1 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

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 sardonically   

adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地

参考例句：

• Some say sardonically that combat pay is good and that one can do quite well out of this war. 有些人讽刺地说战地的薪饷很不错，人们可借这次战争赚到很多钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Tu Wei-yueh merely drew himself up and smiled sardonically. 屠维岳把胸脯更挺得直些，微微冷笑。 来自子夜部分

4 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

5 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

8 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

12 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

13 vats   

varieties 变化，多样性，种类

参考例句：

• Fixed rare issue with getting stuck in VATS mode. 修正了极少出现的VATS模式卡住的问题。
• Objective To summarize the experience of VATS clinic application. 目的总结电视胸腔镜手术(vats)胸外科疾病治疗中的临床应用经验。

14 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

15 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

16 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

17 afflicts   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Level 3-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 三级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。
• Level 1-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 一级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。