Chapter 11

In some respects, Wye could be quite puritanical¹. (This was true of all the sectors³, though the rigidity⁴ of one sector² might be completely different from the rigidity of another.) Here, the drinks were not alcoholic⁵ but were synthetically⁶ designed to stimulate⁷ in other ways. Raych did not like the taste, finding himself utterly⁸ unused to it, but it meant that he could sip⁹ his drink slowly and look around.
    He caught the eye of a young woman several tables away and had difficulty in looking away. She was attractive and it was clear that Wye's ways were not puritanical in every fashion.
    After a few moments, the young woman smiled slightly and rose. She drifted toward Raych's table, while Raych watched her speculatively¹⁰. He could scarcely (he thought with marked regret) afford a side adventure just now.
    She stopped for a moment when she reached Raych and then let herself slide smoothly¹¹ into an adjacent chair.
    "Hello," she said. "You don't look like a regular here."
    Raych smiled. "I'm not. Do you know all the regulars?"
    "Just about," she said, unembarrassed. "My name is Manella. What's yours?"
    Raych was more regretful than ever. She was quite tall, taller than he himself was without his heels-something he always found attractive-had a milky¹² complexion¹³, and long, softly wavy¹⁴ hair that had distinct glints of dark red in it. Her clothing was not too garish¹⁵ and she might, if she had tried a little harder, have passed as a respectable woman of the not-too-hardworking class.
    Raych said, "My name doesn't matter. I don't have many credits."
    "Oh. Too bad." Manella made a face. "Can't you get a few?"
    "I'd like to. I need a job. Do you know of any?"
    "What kind of job?"
    Raych shrugged¹⁶. "I don't have any experience in anything fancy, but I ain't proud."
    Manella looked at him thoughtfully. "I'll tell you what, Mr. Nameless. Sometimes it doesn't take any credits at all."
    Raych froze at once. He had been successful enough with women, but with his mustache-his mustache. What could she see in his baby face?
    He said, "Tell you what. I had a friend living here a couple of weeks ago and I can't find him. Since you know all the regulars, maybe you know him. His name is Kaspalov." He raised his voice slightly. "Kaspal Kaspalov."
    Manella stared at him blankly and shook her head. "I don't know anybody by that name."
    "Too bad. He was a Joranumite and so am L" Again, a blank look. "Do you know what a Joranumite is?"
    She shook her head. "N-no. I've heard the word, but I don't know what it means. Is it some kind of job?"
    Raych felt disappointed.
    He said, "It would take too long to explain."
    It sounded like a dismissal and, after a moment of uncertainty¹⁷, Manella rose and drifted away. She did not smile and Raych was a little surprised that she had remained as long as she did.
    (Well, Seldon had always insisted that Raych had the capacity to inspire affection-but surely not in a businesswoman of this sort. For them, payment was the thing.)
    His eyes followed Manella automatically as she stopped at another table, where a man was seated by himself. He was of early middle age, with butter-yellow hair, slicked back. He was very smooth-shaven, but it seemed to Raych that he could have used a beard, his chin being too prominent and a bit asymmetric¹⁸.
    Apparently¹⁹ Manella had no better luck with this beardless one. A few words were exchanged and she moved on. Too bad, but surely it was impossible for her to fail often. She was unquestionably desirable.
    Raych found himself thinking, quite involuntarily, of what the upshot would be if he, after all, could- And then Raych realized that he had been joined by someone else. It was a man this time. It was, in fact, the man to whom Manella had just spoken. He was astonished that his own preoccupation had allowed him to be thus approached and, in effect, caught by surprise. He couldn't very well afford this sort of thing.
    The man looked at him with a glint of curiosity in his eyes. "You were just talking to a friend of mine."
    Raych could not help smiling broadly. "She's a friendly person."
    "Yes, she is. And a good friend of mine. I couldn't help overhearing what you said to her."
    "Wasn't nothing wrong, I think."
    "Not at all, but you called yourself a Joranumite."
    Raych's heart jumped. His remark to Manella had hit dead-center after all. It had meant nothing to her, but it seemed to mean something to her "friend."
    Did that mean he was on the road now? Or merely in trouble?
   

1 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。

2 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。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 rigidity   

adj.钢性，坚硬

参考例句：

• The rigidity of the metal caused it to crack.这金属因刚度强而产生裂纹。
• He deplored the rigidity of her views.他痛感她的观点僵化。

5 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

6 synthetically   

adv. 综合地，合成地

参考例句：

• The time sequence model synthetically reflects trends of groundwater level. 总体来说，季节性时序模型的模拟和预测精度较高。
• You can't do It'synthetically, by just flying around and dropping in. 你不能仅靠坐着飞机到处蜻蜓点水地看看就得出一个综合印象。

7 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

8 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

9 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

10 speculatively   

adv.思考地，思索地；投机地

参考例句：

• He looked at her speculatively. 他若有所思的看着她。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She eyed It'speculatively as a cruel smile appeared on her black lips. 她若有所思地审视它，黑色的嘴角浮起一丝残酷的微笑。 来自互联网

11 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

12 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

13 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

14 wavy   

adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• She drew a wavy line under the word.她在这个词的下面画了一条波纹线。
• His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式头发太长了，正好垂在他的眉毛下。

15 garish   

adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的

参考例句：

• This colour is bright but not garish.这颜色艳而不俗。
• They climbed the garish purple-carpeted stairs.他们登上铺着俗艳的紫色地毯的楼梯。

16 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》

17 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

18 asymmetric   

a.不对称的

参考例句：

• Most people's faces are asymmetric. 大多数人的脸不对称。
• We have made no reference to asymmetric carbon atoms. 我们未曾涉及不对称碳原子。

19 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。