Hummin sat calmly, not a muscle twitching¹, still looking at Hari Seldon and Seldon, for his part, waited. It was Hummin, he thought, who should speak next.
Hummin did, but said merely, "A robot? Me?--By robot, I presume you mean an artificial being such as the object you saw in the Sacratorium in Mycogen."
"Not quite like that," said Seldon.
"Not metal? Not burnished²? Not a lifeless simulacrum?" Hummin said it without any evidence of amusement.
"No. To be of artificial life is not necessarily to be made of metal. I speak of a robot indistinguishable from a human being in appearance.. "If indistinguishable, Hari, then how do you distinguish?"
"Not by appearance."
"Explain."
"Hummin, in the course of my flight from yourself as Demerzel, I heard of two ancient worlds, as I told you--Aurora³ and Earth. Each seemed to be spoken of as a first world or an only world. In both cases, robots were spoken of, but with a difference."
Seldon was staring thoughtfully at the man across the table, wondering if, in any way, he would give some sign that he was less than a man--or more. He said, "Where Aurora was in question, one robot was spoken of as a renegade, a traitor⁵, someone who deserted⁶ the cause. Where Earth was in question, one robot was spoken of as a hero, one who represented salvation⁷. Was it too much to suppose that it was the same robot?"
"Was it?" murmured Hummin.
"This is what I thought, Hummin. I thought that Earth and Aurora were two separate worlds, co-existing in time. I dont know which one preceded the other. From the arrogance⁸ and the conscious sense of superiority of the Mycogenians, I might suppose that Aurora was the original world and that they despised the Earthmen who derived9

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1 twitching
n.颤搐
参考例句：
The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 burnished
adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光
参考例句：
The floor was spotless; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright. 地板上没有污迹；炉栅和火炉用具擦得发亮。 来自辞典例句 The woods today are burnished bronze. 今天的树林是一片发亮的青铜色。 来自辞典例句

3 aurora
n.极光
参考例句：
The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。 Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

4 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 traitor
n.叛徒，卖国贼
参考例句：
The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。 He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

6 deserted
adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的
参考例句：
The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。 The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 salvation
n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困
参考例句：
Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。 Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

8 arrogance
n.傲慢，自大
参考例句：
His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。 Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

9 derived
vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取
参考例句：
Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 degenerated
衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。 The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

11 isolated
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句：
His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。 Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 galaxy
n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)
参考例句：
The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。 The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

13 aberrant
adj.畸变的，异常的，脱离常轨的
参考例句：
His aberrant behavior at the party shocked everyone.他在晚会上的异常举止令所有人感到震惊！ I saw that the insects and spiders were displaying the same kind of aberrant behavior.我看到昆虫和蜘蛛正在表现出相同反常的行为。

14 embody
vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录
参考例句：
The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。 Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

15 motives
n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句：
to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机 His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

16 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。

17 immortal
adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的
参考例句：
The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。 The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

18 replacement
n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品
参考例句：
We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。 They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

19 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

20 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。

21 millennia
n.一千年，千禧年
参考例句：
For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。 In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

22 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。

23 radical
n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的
参考例句：
The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。 She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

24 conceit
n.自负，自高自大
参考例句：
As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。 She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

25 peculiarities
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪
参考例句：
the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点 He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

26 malleable
adj.(金属)可锻的;有延展性的；(性格)可训练的
参考例句：
Silver is the most malleable of all metals.银是延展性最好的金属。 Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought.科学家发现成人大脑的可塑性远超过他们之前认识到的。

27 tyrant
n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人
参考例句：
The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。 The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

28 proficient
adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家
参考例句：
She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。 I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

29 neutralization
n.中立化，中立状态，中和
参考例句：
Neutralization is the interaction of a base and an acid. 中和作用是碱和酸的相互作用。 来自辞典例句 The neutralization equivalent of the polymer is 750(theoretical-681). 聚和物的中和当量为750（理论上为681）。 来自辞典例句

30 persuasive
adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的
参考例句：
His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。 The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

31 marvel
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事
参考例句：
The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。 The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

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