Chapter 40

The Sisters arrived some six hours later after Seldon and Dors had slept some more, hoping to readjust their biological clocks. The Sisters entered the apartment shyly, almost on tiptoe. Their gowns (which, it turned out, were termed "kirtles" in the Mycogenian dialect) were soft velvety¹ gray, each uniquely decorated by a subtle pattern of fine, darker gray webbing. The kirtles were not entirely² unattractive, but they were certainly most efficient at covering up any human feature. And, of course, their heads were bald and their faces were devoid³ of any ornamentation. They darted⁴ speculative⁵ glances at the touch of blue at the corners of Dorss eyes and at the slight red stain at the corners of her lips. For a few moments, Seldon wondered how one could be certain that the Sisters were truly Sisters.
The answer came at once with the Sisters politely formal greetings. Both twittered and chirped⁶. Seldon, remembering the grave tones of Sunmaster and the nervous baritone of Graycloud, suspected that women, in default of obvious sexual identification, were forced to cultivate distinctive⁷ voices and social mannerisms.
Im Raindrop Forty-Three," twittered one, "and this is my younger sister."
"Raindrop Forty-Five," chirped the other. "Were very strong on Raindrops in our cohort." She giggled⁸.
"I am pleased to meet you both," said Dors gravely, "but now I must know how to address you. I cant⁹ just say Raindrop, can I?"
"No," said Raindrop Forty-Three. "You must use the full name if we are both here."
Seldon said, "How about just Forty-Three and Forty-Five, ladies?"
They both stole a quick glance at him, but said not a word.
Dors said softly, "Ill deal with them, Hari."
Seldon stepped back. Presumably, they were single young women and, very likely, they were not supposed to speak to men. The older one seemed the graver of the two and was perhaps the more puritanical¹⁰. It was hard to tell from a few words and a quick glance, but he had the feeling and was willing to go by that.
Dors said, "The thing is, Sisters, that we tribespeople dont know how to use the kitchen."
"You mean you cant cook?" Raindrop Forty-Three looked shocked and censorious. Raindrop Forty-Five smothered¹¹ a laugh. (Seldon decided¹² that his initial estimate of the two was correct.)
Dors said, "I once had a kitchen of my own, but it wasnt like this one and I dont know what the foods are or how to prepare them."
"Its really quite simple," said Raindrop Forty-Five. "We can show you."
"Well make you a good nourishing lunch," said Raindrop Forty-Three. "Well make it for ... both of you." She hesitated before adding the final words. It clearly took an effort to acknowledge the existence of a man.
"If you dont mind," said Dors, "I would like to be in the kitchen with you and I would appreciate it if youd explain everything exactly. After all, Sisters, I cant expect you to come here three times a day to cook for us."
"We will show you everything," said Raindrop Forty-Three, nodding her head stiffly. "It may be difficult for a tribeswoman to learn, however. You wouldnt have the ... feeling for it."
"I shall try," said Dors with a pleasant smile. They disappeared into the kitchen.
Seldon stared after them and tried to work out the strategy he intended to use.
Microfarm
MYCOGEN-- ... The microfarms of Mycogen are legendary¹³, though they survive today only in such oft-used similes¹⁴ as "rich as the microfarms of Mycogen" or "tasty as Mycogenian yeast¹⁵." Such encomiums tend to intensify¹⁶ with time, to be sure, but Hari Seldon visited those microfarms in the course of The Flight and there are references in his memoirs¹⁷ that would tend to support the popular opinion ...
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA

1 velvety   

adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的

参考例句：

• a velvety red wine 醇厚的红葡萄酒
• Her skin was admired for its velvety softness. 她的皮肤如天鹅绒般柔软，令人赞叹。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

4 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

6 chirped   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的过去式 )

参考例句：

• So chirped fiber gratings have broad reflection bandwidth. 所以chirped光纤光栅具有宽的反射带宽，在反射带宽内具有渐变的群时延等其它类型的光纤光栅所不具备的特点。
• The crickets chirped faster and louder. 蟋蟀叫得更欢了。

7 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

8 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

10 puritanical   

adj.极端拘谨的；道德严格的

参考例句：

• He has a puritanical attitude towards sex.他在性问题上主张克制，反对纵欲。
• Puritanical grandfather is very strict with his children.古板严厉的祖父对子女要求非常严格。

11 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

12 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。

13 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

14 similes   

（使用like或as等词语的）明喻( simile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Similes usually start with "like" or "as". 明喻通常以like或as开头。
• All similes and allegories concerning her began and ended with birds. 要比仿她，要模拟她，总得以鸟类始，还得以鸟类终。

15 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。

16 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

17 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》