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PROLOGUE

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The Galactic Empire Was Falling.

It was a colossal1 Empire, stretching across millions of worlds from arm-end to arm-end of the mighty2 multi-spiral that was the Milky3 Way. Its fall was colossal, too ?and a long one, for it had a long way to go.

It had been falling for centuries before one man became really aware of that fall. That man was Hari Seldon, the man who represented the one spark of creative effort left among the gathering4 decay. He developed and brought to its highest pitch the science of psychohistory.

Psychohistory dealt not with man, but with man-masses. It was the science of mobs; mobs in their billions. It could forecast reactions to stimuli5 with something of the accuracy that a lesser6 science could bring to the forecast of a rebound7 of a billiard ball. The reaction of one man could be forecast by no known mathematics; the reaction of a billion is something else again.

Hari Seldon plotted the social and economic trends of the time, sighted along the curves and foresaw the continuing and accelerating fall of civilization and the gap of thirty thousand years that must elapse before a struggling new Empire could emerge from the ruins.

It was too late to stop that fall, but not too late to narrow the gap of barbarism. Seldon established two Foundations at "opposite ends of the Galaxy8" and their location was so designed that in one short millennium9 events would knit and mesh10 so as to force out of them a stronger, more permanent, more
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1 colossal sbwyJ     
adj.异常的，庞大的
参考例句：
  • There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
  • Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。
2 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
3 milky JD0xg     
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。
4 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会，聚会，聚集
参考例句：
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
5 stimuli luBwM     
n.刺激（物）
参考例句：
  • It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
  • My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。
6 lesser UpxzJL     
adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地
参考例句：
  • Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
  • She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。
7 rebound YAtz1     
v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回
参考例句：
  • The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
  • Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。
8 galaxy OhoxB     
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。
9 millennium x7DzO     
n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世
参考例句：
  • The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
  • We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。
10 mesh cC1xJ     
n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络
参考例句：
  • Their characters just don't mesh.他们的性格就是合不来。
  • This is the net having half inch mesh.这是有半英寸网眼的网。
11 benevolent Wtfzx     
adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的
参考例句：
  • His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
  • He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。
12 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱，混乱，动乱
参考例句：
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
13 compendium xXay7     
n.简要，概略
参考例句：
  • The Compendium of Materia Medica has been held in high esteem since it was first published.“本草纲目”问世之后，深受人们的推重。
  • The book is a compendium of their poetry,religion and philosophy.这本书是他们诗歌、宗教和哲学的概略。
14 encyclopedia ZpgxD     
n.百科全书
参考例句：
  • The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
  • Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。
15 unaware Pl6w0     
a.不知道的，未意识到的
参考例句：
  • They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
  • I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。
16 precarious Lu5yV     
adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的
参考例句：
  • Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
  • He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。
17 ascendancy 3NgyL     
n.统治权，支配力量
参考例句：
  • We have had ascendancy over the enemy in the battle.在战斗中我们已占有优势。
  • The extremists are gaining ascendancy.极端分子正逐渐占据上风。
18 receded a802b3a97de1e72adfeda323ad5e0023     
v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题
参考例句：
  • The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
  • The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。
19 dealing NvjzWP     
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。
20 gadgets 7239f3f3f78d7b7d8bbb906e62f300b4     
n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）
参考例句：
  • Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
  • This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
21 heyday CdTxI     
n.全盛时期，青春期
参考例句：
  • The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
  • She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。
22 penetrated 61c8e5905df30b8828694a7dc4c3a3e0     
adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
  • The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
  • They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
23 periphery JuSym     
n.(圆体的)外面；周围
参考例句：
  • Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
  • The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。
24 warfare XhVwZ     
n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突
参考例句：
  • He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
  • Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。
25 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
26 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的，必然发生的
参考例句：
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
27 lash a2oxR     
v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛
参考例句：
  • He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
  • With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

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