Chapter 72

Both Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili had taken rather lingering baths, making use of the somewhat primitive¹ facilities available to them in the Tisalver household. They had changed their clothing and were in Seldons room when Jirad Tisalver returned in the evening. His signal at the door was (or seemed) rather timid. The buzz did not last long.
Seldon opened the door and said pleasantly, "Good evening, Master Tisalver. And Mistress."
She was standing² right behind her husband, forehead puckered³ into a puzzled frown.
Tisalver said tentatively, as though he was unsure of the situation, "Are you and Mistress Venabili both well?" He nodded his head as though trying to elicit⁴ an affirmative by body language.
"Quite well. In and out of Billibotton without trouble and were all washed and changed. Theres no smell left." Seldon lifted his chin as he said it, smiling, tossing the sentence over Tisalvers shoulder to his wife. She sniffed⁵ loudly, as though testing the matter.
Still tentatively, Tisalver said, "I understand there was a knife fight."
Seldon raised his eyebrows⁷. "Is that the story?"
"You and the Mistress against a hundred thugs, we were cold, and you killed them all. Is that so?" There was the reluctant sound of deep respect in his voice.
"Absolutely not," Dors put in with sudden annoyance⁸. "Thats ridiculous. What do you think we are? Mass murderers? And do you think a hundred thugs would remain in place, waiting the considerable time it would take me--us--to kill them all? I mean, think about it."
"Thats what theyre saying," said Casilia Tisalver with shrill⁹ firmness. "We cant¹⁰ have that sort of thing in this house."
"In the first place," said Seldon, "it wasnt in this house. In the second, it wasnt a hundred men, it was ten. In the third, no one was killed. There was some altercation¹¹ back and forth¹², after which they left and made way for us."
"They just made way. Do you expect me to believe that, Outworlders?" demanded Mistress Tisalver belligerently¹³.
Seldon sighed. At the slightest stress, human beings seemed to divide themselves into antagonistic¹⁴ groups. He said, "Well, I grant you one of them was cut a little. Not seriously."
"And you werent hurt at all?" said Tisalver. The admiration¹⁵ in his voice was more marked.
"Not a scratch," said Seldon. "Mistress Venabili handles two knives excellently well."
"I dare say," said Mistress Tisalver, her eyes dropping to Dorss belt, "and thats not what I want to have going on here." Dors said sternly, "As long as no one attacks us here, thats what you wont¹⁶ have here."
"But on account of you," said Mistress Tisalver, "we have trash from the street standing at the doorway¹⁷."
"My love," said Tisalver soothingly¹⁸, "let us not anger--"
"Why?" spat¹⁹ his wife with contempt. "Are you afraid of her knives? I would like to see her use them here."
"I have no intention of using them here," said Dors with a sniff⁶ as loud as any that Mistress Tisalver had produced. "What is this trash from the street youre talking about?"
Tisalver said, "What my wife means is that an urchin²⁰ from Billibotton--at least, judging by his appearance--wishes to see you and we are not accustomed to that sort of thing in this neighborhood. It undermines our standing." He sounded apologetic.
Seldon said, "Well, Master Tisalver, well go outside, find out what its all about, and send him on his business as quickly--"
"No. Wait," said Dors, annoyed. "These are our rooms. We pay for them. We decide who visits us and who does not. If there is a young man outside from Billibotton, he is nonetheless a Dahlite. More important, hes a Trantorian. Still more important, hes a citizen of the Empire and a human being. Most important, by asking to see us, he becomes our guest. Therefore, we invite him in to see us."
Mistress Tisalver didnt move. Tisalver himself seemed uncertain.
Dors said, "Since you say I killed a hundred bullies²¹ in Billibotton, you surely do not think I am afraid of a boy or, for that matter, of you two." Her right hand dropped casually²² to her belt.
Tisalver said with sudden energy, "Mistress Venabili, we do not intend to offend you. Of course these rooms are yours and you can entertain whomever you wish here." He stepped back, pulling his indignant wife with him, undergoing a burst of resolution for which he might conceivably have to pay afterward²³. Dors looked after them sternly.
Seldon smiled dryly. "How unlike you, Dors. I thought I was the one who quixotically got into trouble and that you were the calm and practical one whose only aim was to prevent trouble."
Dors shook her head. "I cant bear to hear a human being spoken of with contempt just because of his group identification--even by other human beings. Its these respectable people here who create those hooligans out there."
"And other respectable people," said Seldon, "who create these respectable people. These mutual²⁴ animosities are as much a part of humanity--"
"Then youll have to deal with it in your psychohistory, wont you?"
"Most certainly--if there is ever a psychohistory with which to deal with anything at all.--Ah, here comes the urchin under discussion. And its Raych, which somehow doesnt surprise me."

1 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

2 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。

3 puckered   

v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His face puckered , and he was ready to cry. 他的脸一皱，像要哭了。
• His face puckered, the tears leapt from his eyes. 他皱着脸，眼泪夺眶而出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。

5 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

7 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。

8 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

9 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

10 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。

11 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 belligerently   

参考例句：

• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harass, threaten, insult, or behave belligerently towards others. 向其它交战地折磨，威胁，侮辱，或表现。 来自互联网

14 antagonistic   

adj.敌对的

参考例句：

• He is always antagonistic towards new ideas.他对新思想总是持反对态度。
• They merely stirred in a nervous and wholly antagonistic way.他们只是神经质地，带着完全敌对情绪地骚动了一下。

15 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

16 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。

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

20 urchin   

n.顽童；海胆

参考例句：

• You should sheer off the urchin.你应该躲避这顽童。
• He is a most wicked urchin.他是个非常调皮的顽童。

21 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

22 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

23 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

24 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。