Chapter 2

Seldon said, "Wherever do you think Wanda got such a notion?"
    "Come now, Hari. She had a Salvanian gecko that died, remember? One of her friends had a father who died in an accident and she sees deaths on holovision all the time. It is impossible for any child to be so protected as not to be aware of death. Actually I wouldn't want her to be so protected. Death is an essential part of life; she must learn that."
    "I don't mean death in general, Manella. I mean my death in particular. What has put that into her head?"
    Manella hesitated. She was very fond, indeed, of Hari Seldon. She thought, Who would not be, so how can I say this?
    But how could she not say this? So she said, "Hari, you yourself put it into her head."
    "I?"
    "Of course, you've been speaking for months of turning sixty and complaining loudly of growing old. The only reason people are setting up this party is to console you."
    "It's no fun turning sixty," said Seldon indignantly. "Wait! Wait! You'll find out."
    "I will-if I'm lucky. Some people don't make it to sixty. Just the same, if turning sixty and being old are all you talk about, you end up frightening an impressionable little girl."
    Seldon sighed and looked troubled. "I'm sorry, but it's hard. Look at my hands. They're getting spotted¹ and soon they'll be gnarled. I can do  hardly anything in the way of Twisting any longer. A child could probably force me to my knees."
    "In what way does that make you different from other sixty-year-olds? At least your brain is working as well as ever. How often have you said that that's all that counts?"
    "I know. But I miss my body."
    Manella said with just a touch of malice², "Especially when Dors doesn't seem to get any older."
    Seldon said uneasily, "Well yes, I suppose-" He looked away, clearly unwilling³ to talk about the matter.
    Manella looked at her father-in-law gravely. The trouble was, he knew nothing about children-or about people generally. It was hard to think that he had spent ten years as First Minister under the old Emperor and yet ended up knowing as little about people as he did.
    Of course, he was entirely⁴ wrapped up in this psychohistory of his, that dealt with quadrillions of people, which ultimately meant dealing⁵ with no people at all-as individuals. And how could he know about children when he had had no contact with any child except Raych, who had entered his life as a twelve-year-old? Now he had Wanda, who was-and would probably remain to him-an utter mystery.
    Manella thought all this lovingly. She had the incredible desire to protect Hari Seldon from a world he did not understand. It was the only point at which she and her mother-in-law, Dors Venabili, met and coalesced-this desire to protect Hari Seldon.
    Manella had saved Seldon's life ten years before. Dors, in her strange way, had considered this an invasion of her prerogative⁶ and had never quite forgiven Manella.
    Seldon, in his turn, had then saved Manella's life. She closed her eyes briefly⁷ and the whole scene returned to her, almost as though it were happening to her right now.
   

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

3 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

4 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。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 prerogative   

n.特权

参考例句：

• It is within his prerogative to do so.他是有权这样做的。
• Making such decisions is not the sole prerogative of managers.作这类决定并不是管理者的专有特权。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。