Chapter 25

A blaster, despite its name, does not "blast" in the proper sense of the term. It vaporizes and blows out an interior and-if anything-causes an implosion¹. There is a soft sighing sound, leaving what appears to be a "blasted" object.
    Hari Seldon did not expect to hear that sound. He expected only death. It was, therefore, with surprise that he heard the distinctive² soft sighing sound and he blinked rapidly as he looked down at himself, slackjawed.
    He was alive? (He thought it as a question, not a statement.)
    Raych was still standing³ there, his blaster pointing forward, his eyes glazed⁴. He was absolutely motionless, as though some motive⁵ power had ceased.
    Behind him was the crumpled⁶ body of Andorin, fallen in a pool of blood, and standing next to him, blaster in hand, was a gardener. The hood⁷ had slipped away; the gardener was clearly a woman with freshly clipped hair.
    She allowed herself a glance at Seldon and said, "Your son knows me as Manella Dubanqua. I'm a security officer. Do you want my reference number, First Minister?"
    "No," said Seldon faintly. Imperial Guard had converged⁸ on the scene. "My son! What's wrong with my son?"
    "Desperance, I think," said Manella. "That can be washed out eventually." She reached forward to take the blaster out of Raych's hand. "I'm sorry I didn't act sooner. I had to wait for an overt⁹ move and, when it came, it almost caught me napping."
    "I had the same trouble. We must take Raych to the Palace hospital."
    A confused noise suddenly emanated¹⁰ from the Small Palace. It occurred to Seldon that the Emperor was, indeed, watching the proceedings¹¹ and, if so, he must be grandly furious, indeed.
    "Take care of my son, Miss Dubanqua," said Seldon. "I must see the Emperor."
    He set off at an undignified run through the chaos¹² on the Great Lawns and dashed into the Small Palace without ceremony. Cleon could scarcely grow any angrier over that.
    And there, with an appalled¹³ group watching in stupor-there, on the semicircular stairway-was the body of His Imperial Majesty¹⁴, Cleon I, smashed all but beyond recognition. His rich Imperial robes now served as a shroud¹⁵. Cowering¹⁶ against the wall, staring stupidly at the horrified¹⁷ faces surrounding him, was Mandell Gruber.
    Seldon felt he could take no more. He took in the blaster lying at Gruber's feet. It had been Andorin's, he was sure. He asked softly, "Gruber, what have you done?"
    Gruber, staring at him, babbled¹⁸, "Everyone screaming and yelling. I thought, Who would know? They would think someone else had killed the Emperor. But then I couldn't run."
    "But, Gruber. Why?"
    "So I wouldn't have to be Chief Gardener." And he collapsed¹⁹.
    Seldon stared in shock at the unconscious Gruber.
    Everything had worked out by the narrowest of margins²⁰. He himself was alive. Raych was alive. Andorin was dead and the Joranumite Conspiracy²¹ would now be hunted down to the last person.
    The center would have held, just as psychohistory had dictated²².
    And then one man, for a reason so trivial as to defy analysis, had killed the Emperor.
    And now, thought Seldon in despair, what do we do? What happens next? 

1 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。

2 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。

3 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。

4 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

6 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

10 emanated   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Do you know where these rumours emanated from? 你知道谣言出自何处吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rumor emanated from Chicago. 谣言来自芝加哥。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

13 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

15 shroud   

n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏

参考例句：

• His past was enveloped in a shroud of mystery.他的过去被裹上一层神秘色彩。
• How can I do under shroud of a dark sky?在黑暗的天空的笼罩下，我该怎么做呢？

16 cowering   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He turned his baleful glare on the cowering suspect. 他恶毒地盯着那个蜷缩成一团的嫌疑犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He stood over the cowering Herb with fists of fury. 他紧握着两个拳头怒气冲天地站在惊魂未定的赫伯面前。 来自辞典例句

17 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

18 babbled   

v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密

参考例句：

• He babbled the secret out to his friends. 他失口把秘密泄漏给朋友了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She babbled a few words to him. 她对他说了几句不知所云的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

20 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

21 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

22 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》